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Shriekback started life as an aggressive and somewhat jagged dance-rock outfit with songs like "My Spine Is The Bass Line." But with each successive album, they seemed to move away from that aggro-influence a few degrees at a time. On their fifth album, "Big Night Music," they abandoned it all together. It makes this album a curious piece of 80's history. They left the drum machines and most of the synths outside the studio and went for a more organic sound, but also made a conscious decision to be as muted as possible. Other than the opening "Black Light Trap," most of this CD fits into the 'night' part of the album's title. "Pretty Little Things" and "The Reptiles and I" are slinky and darkly low key. The album's best song, "Gunning For The Buddha," is sung from the point of view of mysterious party-hardy mercenaries. They seem almost giddy about the fact that they're on the road to perform a political hit-job. The rest of the songs are, typically, hit and miss. The best Shreikback album remains "Oil and Gold," but if you find a copy of this used, it may be worth your 80's library.
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[ "Shriekback started life as an aggressive and somewhat jagged dance-rock outfit with songs like \"My Spine Is The Bass Line.", "\" But with each successive album, they seemed to move away from that aggro-influence a few degrees at a time.", "On their fifth album, \"Big Night Music,\" they abandoned it all together.", "It makes this album a curious piece of 80's history.", "They left the drum machines and most of the synths outside the studio and went for a more organic sound, but also made a conscious decision to be as muted as possible.", "Other than the opening \"Black Light Trap,\" most of this CD fits into the 'night' part of the album's title.", "\"Pretty Little Things\" and \"The Reptiles and I\" are slinky and darkly low key.", "The album's best song, \"Gunning For The Buddha,\" is sung from the point of view of mysterious party-hardy mercenaries.", "They seem almost giddy about the fact that they're on the road to perform a political hit-job.", "The rest of the songs are, typically, hit and miss.", "The best Shreikback album remains \"Oil and Gold,\" but if you find a copy of this used, it may be worth your 80's library." ]
I recently started drinking Mint Tea, so, I'm in no way a connisieur. I read some Amazon reviews, ordered four of the most popular and well-reviewed Mint Teas, and ran a personal taste test. I notice from some of the comments that not everyone seeks the same thing as I do from a Mint Tea. I like it strong, fresh, clear tasting. Here was how I ranked them: 1st - Traditional Medicinals Organic Peppermint (pull date Mar 2018). 2nd - Twinings Pure Peppermint (pull date 25/10/2017). 3rd - Harney & Sons Caffeine Free Herbal Organic Peppermint (no pull date on box, but purchased this year). 4th - Choice Organic Peppermint (pull date 3/16/18). All were very good, except the Choice Tea had a distinctly different taste, compared to the other three. I just didn't like it as well. Twinings and Harney & Sons had a more mellow, kind of thick body to them, with Twinings being a little more vibrant and Minty. Traditional Medicinals just had a brighter, mintier taste than the rest, so I'm gonna hang with that brand, for now.
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[ "I recently started drinking Mint Tea, so, I'm in no way a connisieur.", "I read some Amazon reviews, ordered four of the most popular and well-reviewed Mint Teas, and ran a personal taste test.", "I notice from some of the comments that not everyone seeks the same thing as I do from a Mint Tea.", "I like it strong, fresh, clear tasting.", "Here was how I ranked them: 1st - Traditional Medicinals Organic Peppermint (pull date Mar 2018).", "2nd - Twinings Pure Peppermint (pull date 25/10/2017).", "3rd - Harney & Sons Caffeine Free Herbal Organic Peppermint (no pull date on box, but purchased this year).", "4th - Choice Organic Peppermint (pull date 3/16/18).", "All were very good, except the Choice Tea had a distinctly different taste, compared to the other three.", "I just didn't like it as well.", "Twinings and Harney & Sons had a more mellow, kind of thick body to them, with Twinings being a little more vibrant and Minty.", "Traditional Medicinals just had a brighter, mintier taste than the rest, so I'm gonna hang with that brand, for now." ]
I also grew up with this recording (on LP) and I also loved it, until I realized what was missing. I had taken it for granted because of the misleading liner notes that it was customary to omit certain numbers. I soon found out otherwise, though, and I discovered that the numbers omitted here are every bit as inspired as the rest of the oratorio. The other great fault that I find with this recording is that it uses the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as bland a chorus as ever became famous. (The soloists are excellent, but that can also be said of the ones in several other "Messiah" albums.) I had no idea of what I was really missing until I discovered the Robert Shaw Chorale's 1966 recording, which I heard for the first time in 1974. It has everything that the Ormandy recording does not; instead of heavy, ponderous conducting and a chorus of two hundred singers, it utilizes lively conducting and a chamber chorus, as well as brilliant soloists. With this recording, and with his 1984 remake on Telarc with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus, Shaw established himself as the twentieth century's definitive conductor of "Messiah". Both Shaw versions are now on CD. Ormandy's recording has much nostalgic meaning for many people, but it cuts as much as forty-five minutes from the two-and-a-half hour score, and can't even begin to compare with Shaw's two magnificent complete recordings. "Messiah" lovers deserve better than a mutilated version of the work.
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[ "I also grew up with this recording (on LP) and I also loved it, until I realized what was missing.", "I had taken it for granted because of the misleading liner notes that it was customary to omit certain numbers.", "I soon found out otherwise, though, and I discovered that the numbers omitted here are every bit as inspired as the rest of the oratorio.", "The other great fault that I find with this recording is that it uses the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as bland a chorus as ever became famous.", "(The soloists are excellent, but that can also be said of the ones in several other \"Messiah\" albums.", ")\n\n I had no idea of what I was really missing until I discovered the Robert Shaw Chorale's 1966 recording, which I heard for the first time in 1974.", "It has everything that the Ormandy recording does not; instead of heavy, ponderous conducting and a chorus of two hundred singers, it utilizes lively conducting and a chamber chorus, as well as brilliant soloists.", "With this recording, and with his 1984 remake on Telarc with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus, Shaw established himself as the twentieth century's definitive conductor of \"Messiah\".", "Both Shaw versions are now on CD.", "Ormandy's recording has much nostalgic meaning for many people, but it cuts as much as forty-five minutes from the two-and-a-half hour score, and can't even begin to compare with Shaw's two magnificent complete recordings.", "\"Messiah\" lovers deserve better than a mutilated version of the work." ]
I promised myself I wouldn't continue with this series after the first trilogy of books. As I said in previous reviews, the books had a great premise, but the writing was lackluster and the characters were ho-hum. I picked up Sinner out of desperation on a boring vacation. It made for a quick read. I am giving this 4th installment the same 3 stars I have given all the books, although I think I liked this one slightly better than the previous three, despite my criticisms. The writing is still lacking. Again, poor semantics and oddly written dialogue continue to jar the reader. It's obvious that Douglass is managing a much larger cast of characters than she can handle. Killing RiverStar off in the first part of the book was a flimsy plotting device that added no depth to the story. This book reads like it was a complete and utter afterthought to the first 3 books. While they are connected, Douglass undermines the entire first three books to change the whole direction of the story. I was glad to be done with Axis and Azhure. I liked them, but they were very boring characters and got rather irritating. The new crop of characters, Drago, Zenith, StarDrifter, Faraday, Zared, and Leagh, are much more appealing. This time I actually liked Faraday, rather than viewing her as a self-sacrificing bore. Douglass doesn't seem to put much thought into her characters' personalities, especially their flaws. She simply seems to assign a few flaws to largely stock characters and work them mechanically. It is difficult to really find a compassion and concern for these characters because of this. I am not particularly fond of Isfrael. What an insufferable boor. I can handle that if there is a reason for it, but it's never explained why he's such a major jerk. It is annoying to see the hate levied on Drago. It doesn't make sense. Douglass's attempts to explain it are flimsy and tiresome. His "crime" against Caelum in book 3 was a strange plotting device (and a major reason I think this 4th book was an utter afterthought) that continues to be a problem in book 4 and I assume, ongoing. As others mentioned, the darkness in this book takes a major leap. Some of the descriptions of suffering are simply disgusting. I don't understand what kind of mind can even think this stuff up. I agree that she goes way, way too far with some of the horrors she describes that occur to the Tencendorians as a result of the TimeKeepers desctructions. I feel almost violated at having to read some of it. It adds nothing, and only serves to disgust the reader and wonder what kind of person thinks this stuff up. I am interested enough to keep going, so I will give this 3 stars. However, readers are encouraged to just skip a few pages when the disgusting descriptions start. They serve no purpose.
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[ "I promised myself I wouldn't continue with this series after the first trilogy of books.", "As I said in previous reviews, the books had a great premise, but the writing was lackluster and the characters were ho-hum.", "I picked up Sinner out of desperation on a boring vacation.", "It made for a quick read.", "I am giving this 4th installment the same 3 stars I have given all the books, although I think I liked this one slightly better than the previous three, despite my criticisms.", "The writing is still lacking.", "Again, poor semantics and oddly written dialogue continue to jar the reader.", "It's obvious that Douglass is managing a much larger cast of characters than she can handle.", "Killing RiverStar off in the first part of the book was a flimsy plotting device that added no depth to the story.", "This book reads like it was a complete and utter afterthought to the first 3 books.", "While they are connected, Douglass undermines the entire first three books to change the whole direction of the story.", "I was glad to be done with Axis and Azhure.", "I liked them, but they were very boring characters and got rather irritating.", "The new crop of characters, Drago, Zenith, StarDrifter, Faraday, Zared, and Leagh, are much more appealing.", "This time I actually liked Faraday, rather than viewing her as a self-sacrificing bore.", "Douglass doesn't seem to put much thought into her characters' personalities, especially their flaws.", "She simply seems to assign a few flaws to largely stock characters and work them mechanically.", "It is difficult to really find a compassion and concern for these characters because of this.", "I am not particularly fond of Isfrael.", "What an insufferable boor.", "I can handle that if there is a reason for it, but it's never explained why he's such a major jerk.", "It is annoying to see the hate levied on Drago.", "It doesn't make sense.", "Douglass's attempts to explain it are flimsy and tiresome.", "His \"crime\" against Caelum in book 3 was a strange plotting device (and a major reason I think this 4th book was an utter afterthought) that continues to be a problem in book 4 and I assume, ongoing.", "As others mentioned, the darkness in this book takes a major leap.", "Some of the descriptions of suffering are simply disgusting.", "I don't understand what kind of mind can even think this stuff up.", "I agree that she goes way, way too far with some of the horrors she describes that occur to the Tencendorians as a result of the TimeKeepers desctructions.", "I feel almost violated at having to read some of it.", "It adds nothing, and only serves to disgust the reader and wonder what kind of person thinks this stuff up.", "I am interested enough to keep going, so I will give this 3 stars.", "However, readers are encouraged to just skip a few pages when the disgusting descriptions start.", "They serve no purpose." ]
Son thought dad's threats to online gamers were to him so he shot him in the face officials say Alec Tarasiuk was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Walter Tarasiuk 57 who prosecutors said was shot once in the head Wednesday as he played a video game in his bedroom. During a bond hearing at the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court Thursday Judge Steven Goebel said he believed Alec Tarasiuk was a danger to the community noting that he allegedly shot his father from behind. Assistant State’s Attorney Lorna Amado-Chevlin said Tarasiuk and his father argued that morning in their residence in the 900 block of Ash Road. The son told investigators that he became upset because his father said he was worthless and not doing anything productive with his life and referred to him with a profanity she said. Hoffman Estates Police Department Alec W. Tarasiuk is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father Walter Tarasiuk Alec W. Tarasiuk is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father Walter Tarasiuk (Hoffman Estates Police Department) She said Tarasiuk told police his father went into his own bedroom and began to play a video game interacting online with other players on an X-Box console while sitting on a love seat. The father began yelling threats at the other online players she said. The younger Tarasiuk was in his bedroom and overheard the threats and told police he believed the threats were directed at him Amado-Chevlin said. Tarasiuk went into the garage and retrieved a loaded handgun his father kept there entered the father’s bedroom and shot his father in the right cheek area she said. Tarasiuk saw blood coming from his father's face turned off the video game because “it was too loud” and called 911 reporting that he had shot his father she said. Police recovered the handgun from the younger Tarsiuk and found his father slumped in the love seat with headphones on and a game controller in his lap she said. Alec Tarasiuk is a graduate of Conant High School and is a lifelong resident of Hoffman Estates Beattie said. Tarasiuk had lived with his mother in Arlington Heights until she asked him to leave prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the younger Tarasiuk has no prior criminal background. His next court appearance is Feb. 1. The first name of Alec Tarasiuk was misspelled in a previous online version of this story.
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[ "Son thought dad's threats to online gamers were to him so he shot him in the face officials say\nAlec Tarasiuk was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Walter Tarasiuk 57 who prosecutors said was shot once in the head Wednesday as he played a video game in his bedroom.", "During a bond hearing at the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court Thursday Judge Steven Goebel said he believed Alec Tarasiuk was a danger to the community noting that he allegedly shot his father from behind.", "Assistant State’s Attorney Lorna Amado-Chevlin said Tarasiuk and his father argued that morning in their residence in the 900 block of Ash Road.", "The son told investigators that he became upset because his father said he was worthless and not doing anything productive with his life and referred to him with a profanity she said.", "Hoffman Estates Police Department Alec W.", "Tarasiuk is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father Walter Tarasiuk Alec W.", "Tarasiuk is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father Walter Tarasiuk (Hoffman Estates Police Department)\n She said Tarasiuk told police his father went into his own bedroom and began to play a video game interacting online with other players on an X-Box console while sitting on a love seat.", "The father began yelling threats at the other online players she said.", "The younger Tarasiuk was in his bedroom and overheard the threats and told police he believed the threats were directed at him Amado-Chevlin said.", "Tarasiuk went into the garage and retrieved a loaded handgun his father kept there entered the father’s bedroom and shot his father in the right cheek area she said.", "Tarasiuk saw blood coming from his father's face turned off the video game because “it was too loud” and called 911 reporting that he had shot his father she said.", "Police recovered the handgun from the younger Tarsiuk and found his father slumped in the love seat with headphones on and a game controller in his lap she said.", "Alec Tarasiuk is a graduate of Conant High School and is a lifelong resident of Hoffman Estates Beattie said.", "Tarasiuk had lived with his mother in Arlington Heights until she asked him to leave prosecutors said.", "Prosecutors said the younger Tarasiuk has no prior criminal background.", "His next court appearance is Feb.", "1.", "The first name of Alec Tarasiuk was misspelled in a previous online version of this story." ]
I have read every single word in this Tome. The entire story could have been condensed into two or three hundred pages. It is filled -- stuffed actually -- with trivial descriptions of clothing, food, and unnecessary descriptions to the point where the events themselves are lost or at least buried. New characters are introduced which only adds to the confusion. The storyline is evolving into a soap opera with each chapter ending with a cliff hanger, but nothing is ever resolved. After reading all 900+ pages I find nothing ever happens and nothing is concluded. Furthermore you are left with the assumption you will read the next book although it seems that isn't going to resolve anything either. Apparently there is to be a sixth book. I may or may not read number six because I am still undecided about tackling another pointless thousand pages of detail and trivia promised by book 5. The entire storyline and plot has gotten so complex and convoluted that it is almost impossible to follow all of the characters, their locations, their motivations, and even who they are exactly.
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[ "I have read every single word in this Tome.", "The entire story could have been condensed into two or three hundred pages.", "It is filled -- stuffed actually -- with trivial descriptions of clothing, food, and unnecessary descriptions to the point where the events themselves are lost or at least buried.", "New characters are introduced which only adds to the confusion.", "The storyline is evolving into a soap opera with each chapter ending with a cliff hanger, but nothing is ever resolved.", "After reading all 900+ pages I find nothing ever happens and nothing is concluded.", "Furthermore you are left with the assumption you will read the next book although it seems that isn't going to resolve anything either.", "Apparently there is to be a sixth book.", "I may or may not read number six because I am still undecided about tackling another pointless thousand pages of detail and trivia promised by book 5.", "The entire storyline and plot has gotten so complex and convoluted that it is almost impossible to follow all of the characters, their locations, their motivations, and even who they are exactly." ]
What just happened?? This is not your typical romance. The only words that I have for this novel is rough and aggressive. The relationship between Eric and Faith is intense and brutal. Over time that shifts and transforms, but it is almost overwhelming. I don't know how I feel about the aggression that becomes a sweet romance. It is a hot and cold area for me. At points this seems hot and intriguing, but at moments I was astounded and deterred by the situation. Due to my complete and utter bewilderment of the story I have rated Fighting Faith a three book, because it is not something I could say I love without a doubt. I have a pile of concerns about the story that I don't feel comfortable with. ~BookWhisperer Reviewer JO~
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[ "What just happened??", "This is not your typical romance.", "The only words that I have for this novel is rough and aggressive.", "The relationship between Eric and Faith is intense and brutal.", "Over time that shifts and transforms, but it is almost overwhelming.", "I don't know how I feel about the aggression that becomes a sweet romance.", "It is a hot and cold area for me.", "At points this seems hot and intriguing, but at moments I was astounded and deterred by the situation.", "Due to my complete and utter bewilderment of the story I have rated Fighting Faith a three book, because it is not something I could say I love without a doubt.", "I have a pile of concerns about the story that I don't feel comfortable with.", "~BookWhisperer Reviewer JO~" ]
NBA commissioner prioritized lottery reform on front end of Bulls' rebuild Adam Silver made draft lottery reform a priority just as the Bulls projected to be participating in it for at least a couple of years. At any point during negotiations to land the 2020 NBA All-Star Game did the Bulls try to get Silver to change his mind? The Bulls' president laughed as he said this. But Silver 's aggressive move to even the odds among the top-three worst teams rather than give the league's worst team the best chance to land the No. 1 pick could be a serious matter for the Bulls. "I'm not even sure I'm allowed to say what I think. It passed I think there was only one team against it " Reinsdorf said. "From our perspective the Chicago Bulls we looked at it as what's good for the league. When Adam talks and when he wants something and it's important to him we're going to listen. Because what's important to the Chicago Bulls is important to us but what's good for the league is also important. So we just kind of balance that."
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[ "NBA commissioner prioritized lottery reform on front end of Bulls' rebuild\nAdam Silver made draft lottery reform a priority just as the Bulls projected to be participating in it for at least a couple of years.", "At any point during negotiations to land the 2020 NBA All-Star Game did the Bulls try to get Silver to change his mind?", "The Bulls' president laughed as he said this.", "But Silver 's aggressive move to even the odds among the top-three worst teams rather than give the league's worst team the best chance to land the No.", "1 pick could be a serious matter for the Bulls.", "\"I'm not even sure I'm allowed to say what I think.", "It passed I think there was only one team against it \" Reinsdorf said.", "\"From our perspective the Chicago Bulls we looked at it as what's good for the league.", "When Adam talks and when he wants something and it's important to him we're going to listen.", "Because what's important to the Chicago Bulls is important to us but what's good for the league is also important.", "So we just kind of balance that.", "\"" ]
The Torturer Pushing the Iran Regime’s Great Conspiracy Theory About the Popular Protests This week one of IRIB’s popular nightly talk shows was dedicated to the protests. The Channel Two show featured Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani a conservative MP and Reza Seraj introduced as an “expert on strategic questions and a university professor.” Seraj is well-known to many Iranian activists although not exactly in those terms. Many of the thousands who have gone through the notorious interrogations blindfolded in Tehran’s Evin Prison remember his voice as an “expert interrogator.” He is known for meting out psychological torture rather than physical torture by flaunting his supposed knowledge of the intricate webs of espionage with which any given activist is allegedly involved. Born in the southwestern city of Ahvaz in 1966 Seraj has cut his teeth in different wings of the IRGC especially its autonomous volunteer paramilitary the Basij. One story alleges that in 1988 the then-21-year-old Seraj galvanized a group of angry Basijis to stop a speech by Ali Khamenei—who was president at the time—to soldiers on the frontlines of the war with Iraq. Back then President Khamenei was engaged in a power struggle with Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi who was regarded as being more revolutionary and closer to the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini. As it turned out two decades later in 2009 Seraj played a lead role in defending Khamenei by then the supreme leader harassing and torturing supporters of Mousavi who was by that time the leader of the Green Movement that threatened Khamenei. “ 'The Americans the Israelis and the Saudis had a strategic operational plan that was to be put in action next year ' Seraj said 'but some factors led them into hastening it .' ” Seraj headed the student organization of Basij from 2008 to 2010 and was lauded by the pro-IRGC Fars News Agency as a transformative Basiji figure. In the years since he has become known for working with outlets like Fars and the state broadcaster to defend the regime and spin tales of foreign espionage. His real identity didn’t remain hidden for long. Ali Afshari the student activist who was driven to exile after bouts of prison and torture in Iran recalled Seraj very well in an interview he gave to the New Haven-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. “When I gave up they had taken my blindfold [off] and I could see my interrogator ” Afshari said. “He introduced himself as Alavi but I later found out that his name was Seraj. He sometimes writes for Fars now and is the head of student Basij. I complained to the judge and asked for a different interrogator. Seraj used to tell me that it was he who told the judge what to do not the other way around.” Adding more to spice up the story Amirabadi claimed that part of the U.S. plan was to bring the forces of ISIS to Iranian territory but this had been thwarted by the Quds Force (a part of the IRGC which is not supposed to operate on Iranian territory) and the Unknown Soldiers of the Twelfth Imam (the name used for the forces of Iran’s ministry of intelligence.) Seraj quickly agreed with this claim. According to Seraj now that the Americans’ “Plan A” had been defeated they had resorted to “Plan B ” which had been started by U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s calling on the United Nations Security Council to meet about Iran. “Their plan is to lead Iran to miscalculation and to change its behavior according to what U.S. and the European countries want ” Seraj said. “They had designed a game of dominoes. The Americans were to threaten us with leaving the JCPOA [nuclear agreement] and ramping up the sanctions while the Europeans were to play the good cop.” Confirming "the Conspiracy" and Worries for What’s Next Seraj doesn’t officially speak for the IRGC so someone unfamiliar with his significance might dismiss his elaborate theory as the thoughts of one man. But Iranian Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri has given a version of events that coincides very closely with Seraj’s. Montazeri then gave numerous details to back up the story put forth by Seraj and Amirabadi—and added some new claims. The cities of Herat in Afghanistan and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan had been picked as centers of operation he said and ISIS forces were to come to Iran from there. He also claimed that Michael D’Andrea—who was revealed in U.S. media reports back in June as the newly appointed head of the CIA’s Iran Mission Center—had organized the protests a claim previously made by some pro-government Turkish newspapers (these reports were so inaccurate they had mistakenly published photographs of U.S. actors instead of D’Andrea.) The Green Movement of 2009 was followed by Stalinesque show trials during which the accused confessed to involvement in elaborate espionage plans. Seraj is known to have played a role in concocting those fantasy plans. So now many worry that a similar fate awaits more than 1 500 people who have been arrested over the last few days.
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[ "The Torturer Pushing the Iran Regime’s Great Conspiracy Theory About the Popular Protests\nThis week one of IRIB’s popular nightly talk shows was dedicated to the protests.", "The Channel Two show featured Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani a conservative MP and Reza Seraj introduced as an “expert on strategic questions and a university professor.", "”\n Seraj is well-known to many Iranian activists although not exactly in those terms.", "Many of the thousands who have gone through the notorious interrogations blindfolded in Tehran’s Evin Prison remember his voice as an “expert interrogator.", "” He is known for meting out psychological torture rather than physical torture by flaunting his supposed knowledge of the intricate webs of espionage with which any given activist is allegedly involved.", "Born in the southwestern city of Ahvaz in 1966 Seraj has cut his teeth in different wings of the IRGC especially its autonomous volunteer paramilitary the Basij.", "One story alleges that in 1988 the then-21-year-old Seraj galvanized a group of angry Basijis to stop a speech by Ali Khamenei—who was president at the time—to soldiers on the frontlines of the war with Iraq.", "Back then President Khamenei was engaged in a power struggle with Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi who was regarded as being more revolutionary and closer to the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini.", "As it turned out two decades later in 2009 Seraj played a lead role in defending Khamenei by then the supreme leader harassing and torturing supporters of Mousavi who was by that time the leader of the Green Movement that threatened Khamenei.", "“ 'The Americans the Israelis and the Saudis had a strategic operational plan that was to be put in action next year ' Seraj said 'but some factors led them into hastening it.", "' ”\n Seraj headed the student organization of Basij from 2008 to 2010 and was lauded by the pro-IRGC Fars News Agency as a transformative Basiji figure.", "In the years since he has become known for working with outlets like Fars and the state broadcaster to defend the regime and spin tales of foreign espionage.", "His real identity didn’t remain hidden for long.", "Ali Afshari the student activist who was driven to exile after bouts of prison and torture in Iran recalled Seraj very well in an interview he gave to the New Haven-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.", "“When I gave up they had taken my blindfold [off] and I could see my interrogator ” Afshari said.", "“He introduced himself as Alavi but I later found out that his name was Seraj.", "He sometimes writes for Fars now and is the head of student Basij.", "I complained to the judge and asked for a different interrogator.", "Seraj used to tell me that it was he who told the judge what to do not the other way around.", "”\nAdding more to spice up the story Amirabadi claimed that part of the U.", "S. plan was to bring the forces of ISIS to Iranian territory but this had been thwarted by the Quds Force (a part of the IRGC which is not supposed to operate on Iranian territory) and the Unknown Soldiers of the Twelfth Imam (the name used for the forces of Iran’s ministry of intelligence.", ") Seraj quickly agreed with this claim.", "According to Seraj now that the Americans’ “Plan A” had been defeated they had resorted to “Plan B ” which had been started by U.", "S. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s calling on the United Nations Security Council to meet about Iran.", "“Their plan is to lead Iran to miscalculation and to change its behavior according to what U.", "S. and the European countries want ” Seraj said.", "“They had designed a game of dominoes.", "The Americans were to threaten us with leaving the JCPOA [nuclear agreement] and ramping up the sanctions while the Europeans were to play the good cop.", "”\nConfirming \"the Conspiracy\" and Worries for What’s Next\nSeraj doesn’t officially speak for the IRGC so someone unfamiliar with his significance might dismiss his elaborate theory as the thoughts of one man.", "But Iranian Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri has given a version of events that coincides very closely with Seraj’s.", "Montazeri then gave numerous details to back up the story put forth by Seraj and Amirabadi—and added some new claims.", "The cities of Herat in Afghanistan and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan had been picked as centers of operation he said and ISIS forces were to come to Iran from there.", "He also claimed that Michael D’Andrea—who was revealed in U.", "S. media reports back in June as the newly appointed head of the CIA’s Iran Mission Center—had organized the protests a claim previously made by some pro-government Turkish newspapers (these reports were so inaccurate they had mistakenly published photographs of U.", "S. actors instead of D’Andrea.", ")\nThe Green Movement of 2009 was followed by Stalinesque show trials during which the accused confessed to involvement in elaborate espionage plans.", "Seraj is known to have played a role in concocting those fantasy plans.", "So now many worry that a similar fate awaits more than 1 500 people who have been arrested over the last few days." ]
I'm a charter subscriber of Women's Health, and honestly I think that's the only reason I stayed subscribed for so long. "Oh, but I was one of their first subscribers!"...yeah, who cares? After I really gave it some thought, I sure didn't care. The fact that 6 of the last 8 issues were still wrapped in their plastic wrap further confirmed my lack of interest in this magazine. I used to always snatch my boyfriend's copy of Men's Health when it would arrive in the mail and devour it before he got home from class. So when Women's Health invited me to try out their first issue, I jumped at the chance. I was happy that the magazines were very similar, but after awhile it seemed too repetitive. Then Men's Health itself started changing into something boring and bland and my boyfriend chose to end his subscription. Now, it seems like the same pattern is emerging with Women's Health. It went strong for awhile, but now it just feels like they're regurgitating the same information over and over. It's not so much that Women's Health is a *bad* magazine. It is informative, it does have decent columns and helpful information. But it's nothing special. It doesn't contain any information that I can't find in other (cheaper) places. I gave it 3 stars because I do think it's a decent magazine to subscribe to for 2-3 years, but not necessarily worth a long-term commitment since you'll likely begin to feel a sense of déjà vu after a time. Needless to say, my subscription is up for renewal and I'm opting out.
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[ "I'm a charter subscriber of Women's Health, and honestly I think that's the only reason I stayed subscribed for so long.", "\"Oh, but I was one of their first subscribers!", "\"...", "yeah, who cares?", "After I really gave it some thought, I sure didn't care.", "The fact that 6 of the last 8 issues were still wrapped in their plastic wrap further confirmed my lack of interest in this magazine.", "I used to always snatch my boyfriend's copy of Men's Health when it would arrive in the mail and devour it before he got home from class.", "So when Women's Health invited me to try out their first issue, I jumped at the chance.", "I was happy that the magazines were very similar, but after awhile it seemed too repetitive.", "Then Men's Health itself started changing into something boring and bland and my boyfriend chose to end his subscription.", "Now, it seems like the same pattern is emerging with Women's Health.", "It went strong for awhile, but now it just feels like they're regurgitating the same information over and over.", "It's not so much that Women's Health is a *bad* magazine.", "It is informative, it does have decent columns and helpful information.", "But it's nothing special.", "It doesn't contain any information that I can't find in other (cheaper) places.", "I gave it 3 stars because I do think it's a decent magazine to subscribe to for 2-3 years, but not necessarily worth a long-term commitment since you'll likely begin to feel a sense of déjà vu after a time.", "Needless to say, my subscription is up for renewal and I'm opting out." ]
And once again Bob's shifted gears on us. Gone are the electric guitars that so inflamed the Newport audience. At the height of psychedelia, Bob the rebel comes out with what in the 90s would be considered an Unplugged band. Also the tenor of the lyrics has changed. Instead of the random fleeting images of Blonde On Blonde, we have a set of fairly literal straightforward story-songs, the original definition of ballad. Regardless of how interesting or dull the events described, you could always tell exactly what was going on. Oddly enough, the one song with the most surreal lyrics, "All Along The Watchtower" was also the biggest hit (not for Dylan, but Jimi Hendrix). This time around Bob is only using a bass and drums in addition to his acoustic guitar and harmonica. Only while Bob's earliest albums, which didn't even have that rhythm section, managed to sound interesting and diverse, this new arrangement strangles and limits Bob. While Bob would make this line-up work to great effect on Blood On The Tracks, here it has a very static and dull quality musically. Most of the songs are kind of hard to tell apart from each other: the title track, "As I Went Out One Morning", "I Am A Lonesome Hobo", "Dear Landlord", "Drifter's Escape", "I Pity The Immigrant", "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine". As for "The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest", goes on way too long, particularly if you find the lyrics to be unimpressive. By the time the Pete Drake shows up for the last two songs (even though usually I think of the pedal steel guitar and the audio equivalent of a headache), it's almost a relief to get some more scope. A couple of songs are worth mentioning. "All Along The Watchtower" manages to be just as wild and heavy as Hendrix's version, even without all the distortion and effects. "The Wicked Messenger" (my personal favorite) is just a simple riff, repeated with such single-mindedness that it becomes something much more impressive. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" could be seen as an interesting one-off genre experiment if it weren't for the album that follows.
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[ "And once again Bob's shifted gears on us.", "Gone are the electric guitars that so inflamed the Newport audience.", "At the height of psychedelia, Bob the rebel comes out with what in the 90s would be considered an Unplugged band.", "Also the tenor of the lyrics has changed.", "Instead of the random fleeting images of Blonde On Blonde, we have a set of fairly literal straightforward story-songs, the original definition of ballad.", "Regardless of how interesting or dull the events described, you could always tell exactly what was going on.", "Oddly enough, the one song with the most surreal lyrics, \"All Along The Watchtower\" was also the biggest hit (not for Dylan, but Jimi Hendrix).", "This time around Bob is only using a bass and drums in addition to his acoustic guitar and harmonica.", "Only while Bob's earliest albums, which didn't even have that rhythm section, managed to sound interesting and diverse, this new arrangement strangles and limits Bob.", "While Bob would make this line-up work to great effect on Blood On The Tracks, here it has a very static and dull quality musically.", "Most of the songs are kind of hard to tell apart from each other: the title track, \"As I Went Out One Morning\", \"I Am A Lonesome Hobo\", \"Dear Landlord\", \"Drifter's Escape\", \"I Pity The Immigrant\", \"I Dreamed I Saw St.", "Augustine\".", "As for \"The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest\", goes on way too long, particularly if you find the lyrics to be unimpressive.", "By the time the Pete Drake shows up for the last two songs (even though usually I think of the pedal steel guitar and the audio equivalent of a headache), it's almost a relief to get some more scope.", "A couple of songs are worth mentioning.", "\"All Along The Watchtower\" manages to be just as wild and heavy as Hendrix's version, even without all the distortion and effects.", "\"The Wicked Messenger\" (my personal favorite) is just a simple riff, repeated with such single-mindedness that it becomes something much more impressive.", "\"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight\" could be seen as an interesting one-off genre experiment if it weren't for the album that follows." ]
James Cameron doubles down on 'Wonder Woman': 'That’s not breaking ground' Legendary director James Cameron is standing by his comments about the hit film "Wonder Woman " adding that he doesn't think the way actress Gal Gadot portrayed the superhero is "breaking ground." "I’ll stand by that ... She was wearing a kind of bustier costume that was very form-fitting " he told the Hollywood Reporter. "She’s absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. To me that’s not breaking ground. They had Raquel Welch doing stuff like that in the ’60s." Cameron 's comments echo his remarks to The Guardian last month when he said Gadot's "Wonder Woman" was "an objectified icon." In contrast he said he believes the character of the heroine Sarah Connor he helped to create in the original "Terminator" franchise was more modern and unique. "It was all in a context of talking about why Sarah Connor — what [actress Linda Hamilton] created in 1991 — was if not ahead of its time at least a breakthrough in its time " he added in the new interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "I don’t think it was really ahead of its time because we’re still not [giving women these types of roles]." "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins fired back on social media in August after the original slight from the "Titanic" director saying "James Cameron's inability to understand what 'Wonder Woman' is or stands for to women all over the world is unsurprising as though he is a great filmmaker he is not a woman. I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be."
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[ "James Cameron doubles down on 'Wonder Woman': 'That’s not breaking ground'\nLegendary director James Cameron is standing by his comments about the hit film \"Wonder Woman \" adding that he doesn't think the way actress Gal Gadot portrayed the superhero is \"breaking ground.", "\"\n\"I’ll stand by that...", "She was wearing a kind of bustier costume that was very form-fitting \" he told the Hollywood Reporter.", "\"She’s absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.", "To me that’s not breaking ground.", "They had Raquel Welch doing stuff like that in the ’60s.", "\"\n Cameron 's comments echo his remarks to The Guardian last month when he said Gadot's \"Wonder Woman\" was \"an objectified icon.", "\"\nIn contrast he said he believes the character of the heroine Sarah Connor he helped to create in the original \"Terminator\" franchise was more modern and unique.", "\"It was all in a context of talking about why Sarah Connor — what [actress Linda Hamilton] created in 1991 — was if not ahead of its time at least a breakthrough in its time \" he added in the new interview with the Hollywood Reporter.", "\"I don’t think it was really ahead of its time because we’re still not [giving women these types of roles].", "\"\n\"Wonder Woman\" director Patty Jenkins fired back on social media in August after the original slight from the \"Titanic\" director saying \"James Cameron's inability to understand what 'Wonder Woman' is or stands for to women all over the world is unsurprising as though he is a great filmmaker he is not a woman.", "I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be.", "\"" ]
Q: The Winged Serpent came out around the heyday of the local video rental store. It had a very limited theater run so I think it's bread and butter revenue came from being prominently displayed in either the sci-fi and/or horror aisles of your local shop. It's a B-Movie through and through with small budget special effects, low cost cinematography and some pretty weak performances (more on that later). Still Q has enough going for it to be worth a look, especially for B-movie fans. The fact that every week for years when I went to any of my local video rental stores Q: The Winged Serpent was staring right at me each time I went looking for my next living room entertainment made me curious. Just for that reason alone the film became something of prominence in my mind. It goes to show what proper product placement can do. Considering it's box office sales only yielded a fraction of it's production budget I am guessing they must have gotten a few curious peeps like me to at least rent the film. As far as the film itself is concerned it's pretty bad. About as bad as you would expect for a 70's B-Movie. I guess that makes it more bad since it was made in the 80's. The story of the Q monster is pretty standard. Monster eats unsuspecting victims, who scream and leave bloody messes. There is a little effort for a back story on Q's origin (Q is short for Quetzalcoatl if that helps), but it's really just a scene's worth of plot development so no real depth there. You only get to see Q maybe a few seconds during the entire movie with just a brief full body shot. Q is of course either a puppet of a claw and such or a full bodied stop motion animated model. The stop motion would make Ray Harryhausen disown the craft, but at the same time is at least a departure in movie's dynamic when you get to see for that second or two. Acting is a mixed bag. David Carradine was the star power, but it looked like he was phoning his performance in. He was just as disappointing as much of the cast with dry and uninspiring performances. The one major, MAJOR standout in the film was Michael Moriarty. He already had a reputation as an intense method actor by that time and he is the one and only reason Q is more than just a mere footnote in the annals of the genre. Moriarty plays Quinn, who is essentially a low level criminal with aspirations of making an honest living. Quinn is flawed. He's selfish, angry and just a little guy in the grand scheme of things. From this Quinn character comes a side story that you will find imminently more interesting than Q's occasional killing spree. You start to get wrapped up in his life and you will want to root for him or yell at him depending on the choices he makes. Not many B-movies can pull that off. Shout Factory released this Blu-Ray and they have a reputation of really giving the material its best face forward. The video quality is poor by Blu-Ray standards, but if you ever seen this movie on DVD (or God help you... VHS) you will definitely notice a major improvement in quality. Colors are sharp and details pop out, even to the dismay of the special effects being much more noticeable. Mind you there is still lots of grain and those details that pop out are not as good compared to the previous release standards. Sounds is in DTS 2 channel stereo, which is interesting since I never even knew the movie was sourced in stereo (all previous releases were in mono). As far as sound is concerned the old adage, "garbage in garbage out" comes to mind. It's far from perfect, but I am guessing this is a symptom of the source being bad from the get go. As far as extras are concerned you only get two cheesy trailers and a commentary by Writer/Director Larry Cohen. I haven't heard the commentary but I heard it's a bit entertaining, if not too informative. Personally I would be hard pressed to purchase this movie. In spite of Moriarty's contributions it's still a weak film. As a rental? Personally I still call it required viewing for sci-fi fans, but only because of my past exposure to the VHS box tempting me for years. If that's enough for you then check it out. If you are into low budget B-grade monster movies then this can be up your alley.
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[ "Q: The Winged Serpent came out around the heyday of the local video rental store.", "It had a very limited theater run so I think it's bread and butter revenue came from being prominently displayed in either the sci-fi and/or horror aisles of your local shop.", "It's a B-Movie through and through with small budget special effects, low cost cinematography and some pretty weak performances (more on that later).", "Still Q has enough going for it to be worth a look, especially for B-movie fans.", "The fact that every week for years when I went to any of my local video rental stores Q: The Winged Serpent was staring right at me each time I went looking for my next living room entertainment made me curious.", "Just for that reason alone the film became something of prominence in my mind.", "It goes to show what proper product placement can do.", "Considering it's box office sales only yielded a fraction of it's production budget I am guessing they must have gotten a few curious peeps like me to at least rent the film.", "As far as the film itself is concerned it's pretty bad.", "About as bad as you would expect for a 70's B-Movie.", "I guess that makes it more bad since it was made in the 80's.", "The story of the Q monster is pretty standard.", "Monster eats unsuspecting victims, who scream and leave bloody messes.", "There is a little effort for a back story on Q's origin (Q is short for Quetzalcoatl if that helps), but it's really just a scene's worth of plot development so no real depth there.", "You only get to see Q maybe a few seconds during the entire movie with just a brief full body shot.", "Q is of course either a puppet of a claw and such or a full bodied stop motion animated model.", "The stop motion would make Ray Harryhausen disown the craft, but at the same time is at least a departure in movie's dynamic when you get to see for that second or two.", "Acting is a mixed bag.", "David Carradine was the star power, but it looked like he was phoning his performance in.", "He was just as disappointing as much of the cast with dry and uninspiring performances.", "The one major, MAJOR standout in the film was Michael Moriarty.", "He already had a reputation as an intense method actor by that time and he is the one and only reason Q is more than just a mere footnote in the annals of the genre.", "Moriarty plays Quinn, who is essentially a low level criminal with aspirations of making an honest living.", "Quinn is flawed.", "He's selfish, angry and just a little guy in the grand scheme of things.", "From this Quinn character comes a side story that you will find imminently more interesting than Q's occasional killing spree.", "You start to get wrapped up in his life and you will want to root for him or yell at him depending on the choices he makes.", "Not many B-movies can pull that off.", "Shout Factory released this Blu-Ray and they have a reputation of really giving the material its best face forward.", "The video quality is poor by Blu-Ray standards, but if you ever seen this movie on DVD (or God help you...", "VHS) you will definitely notice a major improvement in quality.", "Colors are sharp and details pop out, even to the dismay of the special effects being much more noticeable.", "Mind you there is still lots of grain and those details that pop out are not as good compared to the previous release standards.", "Sounds is in DTS 2 channel stereo, which is interesting since I never even knew the movie was sourced in stereo (all previous releases were in mono).", "As far as sound is concerned the old adage, \"garbage in garbage out\" comes to mind.", "It's far from perfect, but I am guessing this is a symptom of the source being bad from the get go.", "As far as extras are concerned you only get two cheesy trailers and a commentary by Writer/Director Larry Cohen.", "I haven't heard the commentary but I heard it's a bit entertaining, if not too informative.", "Personally I would be hard pressed to purchase this movie.", "In spite of Moriarty's contributions it's still a weak film.", "As a rental?", "Personally I still call it required viewing for sci-fi fans, but only because of my past exposure to the VHS box tempting me for years.", "If that's enough for you then check it out.", "If you are into low budget B-grade monster movies then this can be up your alley." ]
The Four Last Lieder recorded by Janowitz and Karajan have always raised controversy. Some listeners admire their perfection (orchestral, at least), but Janowitz's singing has often been criticized for being more pretty than meaningful. I cannot but agree - listen to either of the Schwarzkopf studio recordings (there is also a live one with Karajan available) to measure all you have been missing out with Janowitz! These poems depict the retrospective look of a woman upon her experience of life as she approaches the end of the path - and all that Janowitz ever does here is clinical, detached singing, almost devoid of all humanity. Karajan's Metamorphosen have often been praised for their orchestral beauty - but to be fair he here mainly uses this work as a demonstration of orchestral virtuosity and beauty of tone from the BPO's string section. His subsequent 1980s recording is much more human and telling, to say nothing of his deeply moving first recording with the VPO for EMI in 1946 - the first recording ever of the Metamorphosen. The second one was Furtwangler in October 1947 (a surprisingly flowing account from this conductor, at 23'), and both recordings along with the ones of Klemperer and Kempe on EMI glow with tragedy and a fatal sense of loss. Karajan's achievement in Death and Transfiguration is more convincing. At 27' this is one of the longest recorded performances ever, but one that does not lack contrast (the recollection of past events is a trifle self-indulging though). I wouldn't want to be without Klemperer though. This CD will probably attract many newcomers (which one with Karajan and the BPO wouldn't?), but it would really be very sad if they only knew the Vier letzte Lieder and Metamorphosen through these recordings. The meaning of these works is quite simply not conveyed here.
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[ "The Four Last Lieder recorded by Janowitz and Karajan have always raised controversy.", "Some listeners admire their perfection (orchestral, at least), but Janowitz's singing has often been criticized for being more pretty than meaningful.", "I cannot but agree - listen to either of the Schwarzkopf studio recordings (there is also a live one with Karajan available) to measure all you have been missing out with Janowitz!", "These poems depict the retrospective look of a woman upon her experience of life as she approaches the end of the path - and all that Janowitz ever does here is clinical, detached singing, almost devoid of all humanity.", "Karajan's Metamorphosen have often been praised for their orchestral beauty - but to be fair he here mainly uses this work as a demonstration of orchestral virtuosity and beauty of tone from the BPO's string section.", "His subsequent 1980s recording is much more human and telling, to say nothing of his deeply moving first recording with the VPO for EMI in 1946 - the first recording ever of the Metamorphosen.", "The second one was Furtwangler in October 1947 (a surprisingly flowing account from this conductor, at 23'), and both recordings along with the ones of Klemperer and Kempe on EMI glow with tragedy and a fatal sense of loss.", "Karajan's achievement in Death and Transfiguration is more convincing.", "At 27' this is one of the longest recorded performances ever, but one that does not lack contrast (the recollection of past events is a trifle self-indulging though).", "I wouldn't want to be without Klemperer though.", "This CD will probably attract many newcomers (which one with Karajan and the BPO wouldn't?", "), but it would really be very sad if they only knew the Vier letzte Lieder and Metamorphosen through these recordings.", "The meaning of these works is quite simply not conveyed here." ]
Rauner spends night in Quincy veterans home plagued by deadly water problems Facing criticism over his administration’s handling of a deadly 2015 Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a state-run veterans home in downstate Quincy Gov. Bruce Rauner is spending multiple nights at the facility to “gain a more thorough understanding” of operations there. The governor’s stay was not publicized in advance. After Rauner ’s office confirmed the trip Thursday his Republican and Democratic challengers quickly dismissed it as a stunt as they seize on the administration’s response to more than a dozen deaths at the state-run home to question the governor’s leadership abilities. While Rauner previously has declined to say if he bears any moral responsibility for the deaths and illnesses he has pushed back at critics. He was quoted as telling the Joliet Herald-News editorial board this week that “our team took immediate strong action ” after the outbreak began in 2015 killing a dozen residents and sickening 50 more. He said his administration brought in national experts the CDC and spent more than $6 million to update the home’s water filtration system. The disease is contracted by inhaling droplets of water that contain the bacteria. “The reality is and this is what's not getting into the reports the Legionnella bacteria is in most water systems in Illinois. There were just two infections of Legionnaires at Northwestern Hospital which is not even an old facility and I think is regarded as a really well-run facility. These things happen ” the Joliet newspaper quoted Rauner as saying hours before he began his stay. Rauner arrived at the home around 10 p.m. Wednesday according to Dave MacDonna a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. A spokeswoman for Rauner said he planned to spend several days with residents and staff and would be joined over the weekend by first lady Diana Rauner. For Rauner the issue has gone beyond the confounding Legionnella bacteria to become a subject of potential political contamination for the first-term governor. Care of military veterans holds a special patriotic place among voters.
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[ "Rauner spends night in Quincy veterans home plagued by deadly water problems\nFacing criticism over his administration’s handling of a deadly 2015 Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a state-run veterans home in downstate Quincy Gov.", "Bruce Rauner is spending multiple nights at the facility to “gain a more thorough understanding” of operations there.", "The governor’s stay was not publicized in advance.", "After Rauner ’s office confirmed the trip Thursday his Republican and Democratic challengers quickly dismissed it as a stunt as they seize on the administration’s response to more than a dozen deaths at the state-run home to question the governor’s leadership abilities.", "While Rauner previously has declined to say if he bears any moral responsibility for the deaths and illnesses he has pushed back at critics.", "He was quoted as telling the Joliet Herald-News editorial board this week that “our team took immediate strong action ” after the outbreak began in 2015 killing a dozen residents and sickening 50 more.", "He said his administration brought in national experts the CDC and spent more than $6 million to update the home’s water filtration system.", "The disease is contracted by inhaling droplets of water that contain the bacteria.", "“The reality is and this is what's not getting into the reports the Legionnella bacteria is in most water systems in Illinois.", "There were just two infections of Legionnaires at Northwestern Hospital which is not even an old facility and I think is regarded as a really well-run facility.", "These things happen ” the Joliet newspaper quoted Rauner as saying hours before he began his stay.", "Rauner arrived at the home around 10 p.", "m. Wednesday according to Dave MacDonna a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs.", "A spokeswoman for Rauner said he planned to spend several days with residents and staff and would be joined over the weekend by first lady Diana Rauner.", "For Rauner the issue has gone beyond the confounding Legionnella bacteria to become a subject of potential political contamination for the first-term governor.", "Care of military veterans holds a special patriotic place among voters." ]
JRR Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings - Book 1 'The Fellowship of the Ring' storyline is closely followed in this Xbox adaptation (allows some Xbox magic with great sound track, music & above average graphics). The animation sequences between scenario runs are delightful with audio dialogue. The whimsical artwork used was nice, aimed at the younger audiences to reduce the blood/gore, slash/gash & the frightening darken minions of the Dark Lord. That ends this great attempt to make a great game from the greatest fantasy trilogy of all time. Peter Jackson's movie trio lives up to JRR Tolkiens work with a few film adaptations to make each film a stand alone art form. Summary; This game is best reviewed in the PROS vs CONS format to best describe the game players expectations of this XBOX game. PROS - The background music is awesome. The animation sequences of the characters is quite good (great transition between scenarios). The characters voices & dialoque are very effective to the story being told. The games storyline is true to the author. You can SAVE OFTEN (and you must!!!!). CONS - LONG & FREQUENT Game BOOT (loading) between scenarios. NO Middle Earth Maps to be used. NO mapping or auto mapping features (as in MORROWIND) (you must memorize quickly or die). This means NO REFERENCING for location. NO GOING BACK or EXPLORING. Limited Inventory features. THIS IS ONLY A CONTINUOUS SLASH/GASH GAME. You only play FRODO, STRIDER & GANDALF at specific check points (NO OPTIONS). (for example; Frodo from start to BREE. STRIDER from BREE to RIVENDELL etc. no other choices) LIMITED path advance (NO ROAMING as in MORROWIND). ONLY FRODO USES STEALTH. STRIDER & GANDALF MUST FIGHT or RUN or be KILL by EVERYONE (this is NON-STOP). Almost everything is resolved by killing, destroying or dying. (again only FRODO can use stealth). You must move quickly or die!! You must CONSTANTLY search for food, health & magic potions (this distracts the game player from reaching specific scenario goals). VERY FEW rest points to enjoy the game. CANNOT STOP or GO BACK AND EXPLORE MIDDLE EARTH!! These are only the most frequent perks & annoyances while playing this game. It is to bad so much effort went in, the basic game is there, but the features are to limited to make this a [current price] must have Xbox library game. If you want detail, free roaming, the ability to be cunning, a great investment would be "MORROWIND". I am truly disappointed in this Xbox games attempt to tell the "CLASSIC" JRR Tolkien "Fellowship of the Ring" story. See the movie, skip or rent the game. ENJOY.
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[ "JRR Tolkiens \"Lord of the Rings - Book 1 'The Fellowship of the Ring' storyline is closely followed in this Xbox adaptation (allows some Xbox magic with great sound track, music & above average graphics).", "The animation sequences between scenario runs are delightful with audio dialogue.", "The whimsical artwork used was nice, aimed at the younger audiences to reduce the blood/gore, slash/gash & the frightening darken minions of the Dark Lord.", "That ends this great attempt to make a great game from the greatest fantasy trilogy of all time.", "Peter Jackson's movie trio lives up to JRR Tolkiens work with a few film adaptations to make each film a stand alone art form.", "Summary; This game is best reviewed in the PROS vs CONS format to best describe the game players expectations of this XBOX game.", "PROS - The background music is awesome.", "The animation sequences of the characters is quite good (great transition between scenarios).", "The characters voices & dialoque are very effective to the story being told.", "The games storyline is true to the author.", "You can SAVE OFTEN (and you must!!!!", ").", "CONS - LONG & FREQUENT Game BOOT (loading) between scenarios.", "NO Middle Earth Maps to be used.", "NO mapping or auto mapping features (as in MORROWIND) (you must memorize quickly or die).", "This means NO REFERENCING for location.", "NO GOING BACK or EXPLORING.", "Limited Inventory features.", "THIS IS ONLY A CONTINUOUS SLASH/GASH GAME.", "You only play FRODO, STRIDER & GANDALF at specific check points (NO OPTIONS).", "(for example; Frodo from start to BREE.", "STRIDER from BREE to RIVENDELL etc.", "no other choices) LIMITED path advance (NO ROAMING as in MORROWIND).", "ONLY FRODO USES STEALTH.", "STRIDER & GANDALF MUST FIGHT or RUN or be KILL by EVERYONE (this is NON-STOP).", "Almost everything is resolved by killing, destroying or dying.", "(again only FRODO can use stealth).", "You must move quickly or die!!", "You must CONSTANTLY search for food, health & magic potions (this distracts the game player from reaching specific scenario goals).", "VERY FEW rest points to enjoy the game.", "CANNOT STOP or GO BACK AND EXPLORE MIDDLE EARTH!!", "These are only the most frequent perks & annoyances while playing this game.", "It is to bad so much effort went in, the basic game is there, but the features are to limited to make this a [current price] must have Xbox library game.", "If you want detail, free roaming, the ability to be cunning, a great investment would be \"MORROWIND\".", "I am truly disappointed in this Xbox games attempt to tell the \"CLASSIC\" JRR Tolkien \"Fellowship of the Ring\" story.", "See the movie, skip or rent the game.", "ENJOY." ]
As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various audio products and recordings from the 60's and 70's. Maxell 191018 Audio Tape Head Cleaner (Wet) A cassette deck can be cleaned two ways. The Maxell 19 10 18 offers the quicker approach (It will not give you the results of the more time consuming). The labor intensified cleaning means taking the door off the deck (For the units that allow this) and cleaning the pinch rollers and heads with specifically designed swabs and fluid. If you want faster results, Maxell has done almost all the work for us. The cleaner looks like a standard cassette. The instructions will specify the amount of liquid to add to the cleaning tape and the length of time to play in the deck. Presto that is it! As always, try to use quality tapes such as Maxell or TDK for the cassette portion and please keep the tape heads clean or it circumvents the idea of a nice investment. Dirty heads will give the playback muddy results. Enjoy the music and be well, Craig Fenton Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"
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[ "As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book \"Take Me To A Circus Tent\" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various audio products and recordings from the 60's and 70's.", "Maxell 191018 Audio Tape Head Cleaner (Wet)\n\nA cassette deck can be cleaned two ways.", "The Maxell 19 10 18 offers the quicker approach (It will not give you the results of the more time consuming).", "The labor intensified cleaning means taking the door off the deck (For the units that allow this) and cleaning the pinch rollers and heads with specifically designed swabs and fluid.", "If you want faster results, Maxell has done almost all the work for us.", "The cleaner looks like a standard cassette.", "The instructions will specify the amount of liquid to add to the cleaning tape and the length of time to play in the deck.", "Presto that is it!", "As always, try to use quality tapes such as Maxell or TDK for the cassette portion and please keep the tape heads clean or it circumvents the idea of a nice investment.", "Dirty heads will give the playback muddy results.", "Enjoy the music and be well,\nCraig Fenton\nAuthor of the Jefferson Airplane book \"Take Me To A Circus Tent\"" ]
... it does what you should expect it to. No, it doesn't magically erase all scratches and make it as if you have a new paint job fresh from the body shop. What it does do is help minimize the appearance of fine surface scratches from wiping the paint with cloths that weren't lint or dust free. This is primarily evident on dark solid colors. My black Impala was riddled with fine swirl marks all over it from whatever the previous owner washed and dried it with (looked like 600 sandpaper) but since putting 3 coats of this TW black on the car and lightly buffing it off with a 100% cotton towel it has regained a nice slippery smooth feel and look. Now when lights hit it in the driveway at night it doesn't look like it's covered in spider webs anymore. The drawback to using it is you definitely need gloves because this stuff will dye everything and anything it gets on BLACK, including your hands and everything you get near. I have learned that it needs to be put on relatively heavy and let it dry for a while. Stay out of sunlight and don't do it after driving, you will end up with a caked on coating on the hood you'll never get off. Do it in the garage in the morning when it's cool. Use a heavy cotton bath towel folded over into a square to lightly buff it off. Don't rub and press like you're trying to scrape off the paint, you want to make sure you leave behind the protective layer and only remove the hazy film. My car is a 2002 and the paint is not in the best of shape as it looks like it's taken many a beating from hail stones and pine pitch, but after each application of this product it is beginning to regain it's deep glassy appearance. I will definitely buy another bottle when this one is gone. It is unquestionably a step in the right direction over plain jane milky colored wax, that's for sure. It's kinda like the no brainer of what would you be better off polishing black shoes with: white or black shoe polish? Kinda goes without saying sorta thing if you have half a brain.
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[ "...", "it does what you should expect it to.", "No, it doesn't magically erase all scratches and make it as if you have a new paint job fresh from the body shop.", "What it does do is help minimize the appearance of fine surface scratches from wiping the paint with cloths that weren't lint or dust free.", "This is primarily evident on dark solid colors.", "My black Impala was riddled with fine swirl marks all over it from whatever the previous owner washed and dried it with (looked like 600 sandpaper) but since putting 3 coats of this TW black on the car and lightly buffing it off with a 100% cotton towel it has regained a nice slippery smooth feel and look.", "Now when lights hit it in the driveway at night it doesn't look like it's covered in spider webs anymore.", "The drawback to using it is you definitely need gloves because this stuff will dye everything and anything it gets on BLACK, including your hands and everything you get near.", "I have learned that it needs to be put on relatively heavy and let it dry for a while.", "Stay out of sunlight and don't do it after driving, you will end up with a caked on coating on the hood you'll never get off.", "Do it in the garage in the morning when it's cool.", "Use a heavy cotton bath towel folded over into a square to lightly buff it off.", "Don't rub and press like you're trying to scrape off the paint, you want to make sure you leave behind the protective layer and only remove the hazy film.", "My car is a 2002 and the paint is not in the best of shape as it looks like it's taken many a beating from hail stones and pine pitch, but after each application of this product it is beginning to regain it's deep glassy appearance.", "I will definitely buy another bottle when this one is gone.", "It is unquestionably a step in the right direction over plain jane milky colored wax, that's for sure.", "It's kinda like the no brainer of what would you be better off polishing black shoes with: white or black shoe polish?", "Kinda goes without saying sorta thing if you have half a brain." ]
3.5 Stars. I used the green one in PT for my shoulder a couple of times. It seemed a bit too much for the tenderness at the time so I bought this one. The tension almost doesn't seem enough with certain exercises and too much for others. I don't use it much - a minute here, a minute there. I find that full length bands, finger bands, and hand grips work better with less stress on the neck and shoulders. While it doesn't work as good as fused/dumbbell lacrosse balls for forearm massage, it does work pretty decently when you roll your arm over it on a flat surface such as a table. It gets dirty somewhat easily. The logo is also coming off from the twisting.... The one exercise I do think it is good for, is the twist - like wringing out a wet towel but with consistent tension (horizontally and vertically). It's great for the forearms with very little neck and shoulder tension. For that alone, I think it was worth the purchase as I know no other tool that works my arms in quite the same way. Had I the ability to go back, however, I think I would have purchased the green one, not the red, as it would offer me a greater tension for the twist.
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[ "3.", "5 Stars.", "I used the green one in PT for my shoulder a couple of times.", "It seemed a bit too much for the tenderness at the time so I bought this one.", "The tension almost doesn't seem enough with certain exercises and too much for others.", "I don't use it much - a minute here, a minute there.", "I find that full length bands, finger bands, and hand grips work better with less stress on the neck and shoulders.", "While it doesn't work as good as fused/dumbbell lacrosse balls for forearm massage, it does work pretty decently when you roll your arm over it on a flat surface such as a table.", "It gets dirty somewhat easily.", "The logo is also coming off from the twisting....", "The one exercise I do think it is good for, is the twist - like wringing out a wet towel but with consistent tension (horizontally and vertically).", "It's great for the forearms with very little neck and shoulder tension.", "For that alone, I think it was worth the purchase as I know no other tool that works my arms in quite the same way.", "Had I the ability to go back, however, I think I would have purchased the green one, not the red, as it would offer me a greater tension for the twist." ]
From all the hype and fans that make claims just short of "this game was written by God himself," you'd expect a game that you can't put down until you die. This is far from the case, and while I expect quite a few downvotes and flame from the cultish fanbase, it's just an average game. Perhaps when it first came out it was somewhat (but not entirely) unique, but it hasn't aged well. I will say, if you like RPGs in general, you'll get some fun from this game. The combat system is okay, but there really do seem to be more than a few points where the balance isn't all there. Basically, some enemies make you wonder if you're over-leveled while others make you pray that you'll survive. The characters experience development in chunks, but at a certain point it just stops and you're left to imagine them developing further. I can't say much more, save for the fact that disc 2 is essentially a large cutscene broken up into tiny boss fights and it really ruins the momentum of the game. In short, if you have some extra money and you really like RPGs, try getting it on the PSN. Otherwise, you can skip this title.
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[ "From all the hype and fans that make claims just short of \"this game was written by God himself,\" you'd expect a game that you can't put down until you die.", "This is far from the case, and while I expect quite a few downvotes and flame from the cultish fanbase, it's just an average game.", "Perhaps when it first came out it was somewhat (but not entirely) unique, but it hasn't aged well.", "I will say, if you like RPGs in general, you'll get some fun from this game.", "The combat system is okay, but there really do seem to be more than a few points where the balance isn't all there.", "Basically, some enemies make you wonder if you're over-leveled while others make you pray that you'll survive.", "The characters experience development in chunks, but at a certain point it just stops and you're left to imagine them developing further.", "I can't say much more, save for the fact that disc 2 is essentially a large cutscene broken up into tiny boss fights and it really ruins the momentum of the game.", "In short, if you have some extra money and you really like RPGs, try getting it on the PSN.", "Otherwise, you can skip this title." ]
Well, I just finished The Grail Quest about an hour ago and came to the computer to get "Merlin" the second in the series to find out that apparently books have been written about vampires and other things but since 2011 there has been nothing else on this triology and I am deeply disappointed. I do not like series anyway but I love King Arthur stories, the grail, all that is entailed in that magical time. Sorely disappointed. Loved the first book but by the time the second one comes out, if it does, this will be old hat and I will have moved on. That is why I like stand alone books. Series are a pain in the neck. I was impressed with his writing, I could really get into his books but I am not interested in Vampires and all that nonsense, sorry for those that do, but not my cup of excitement. He gathers you in the wraps you up in the story, has you hanging on every word then___________________________that's it. Nada, nothing, zip. So guess I will delete this from my list and move on. Sorry but after 2 years, Merlin should be out here.
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[ "Well, I just finished The Grail Quest about an hour ago and came to the computer to get \"Merlin\" the second in the series to find out that apparently books have been written about vampires and other things but since 2011 there has been nothing else on this triology and I am deeply disappointed.", "I do not like series anyway but I love King Arthur stories, the grail, all that is entailed in that magical time.", "Sorely disappointed.", "Loved the first book but by the time the second one comes out, if it does, this will be old hat and I will have moved on.", "That is why I like stand alone books.", "Series are a pain in the neck.", "I was impressed with his writing, I could really get into his books but I am not interested in Vampires and all that nonsense, sorry for those that do, but not my cup of excitement.", "He gathers you in the wraps you up in the story, has you hanging on every word then___________________________that's it.", "Nada, nothing, zip.", "So guess I will delete this from my list and move on.", "Sorry but after 2 years, Merlin should be out here." ]
Resident Evil is pap, stupid, predictable, violent, idiotic mayhem ... and I loved every minute of it. I bought this DVD on a whim, and next to "We Were Soldiers" it was my favorite film of 2002. I laughed, shouted out advice or predictions, had a few suprises, and am maybe in love with Mila Jovovich. She looks simply fantastic, all wetted down in that little dress with her leather boots and kicking zombie butt. 2002 had two revivals of creature feature mayhem at it's best; "Eight Legged Freaks" with it's Giant Mutant Spiders On The Loose theme and the adorable Scarlet Johanson, and "Resident Evil" resurrecting the Zombie Movie for the Internet generation. Every possible Zombie Movie convention or style is shamelessly ripped off or recycled, with doses of "Aliens", "The Andromeda Strain" and even "The Matrix" thrown in for good measure. The film even boasts repeated, close-up views of Digital Readouts [of varying colors] ticking down until the film's implied doomsday. I am a connesiour [sp?] of Digital Readout movies, and "Resident Evil" has the best Digital Readouts I have seen since "The Six Million Dollar Man". If you want to watch a movie where you are constantly reminded of how long the plot has until doomsday, this is the movie for you. It is also a movie that helpfully reminds its viewers of exactly what is going on every ten minutes or so by having a character list the plot details up to that point. This is done for the benefit of viewers who may have calculated that a run for the restroom is about due during the theatrical runs, and helps jar the memory of those who may not have been paying attention to every minute of the DVD. I found that helpful, because the people I watched it with and I were constantly discussing what was going on to the point where we were talking about the movie more than watching it. "Resident Evil" is an interactive film, and requires a sense of humor in addition to a strong stomach. I am sorry that I missed seeing this movie in a theater; two of my fondest cinema visits were the aforementioned "Eight Legged Freaks", where each and every one of the audience members were interacting with each other and the movie. And "Starship Troopers", which I saw in NYC with an audience that, like me, were besides themselves with hilarity during the entire running length. "Resident Evil" is very much a film in the same genre, and as such delivered the goods, and is certainly due for some sort of "cult" status as time goes on. It is truly Something Awful. But you know what? I'd rather have fun watching a movie than be subjected to an additional three hour purgatory like the two films that will probably contend for Best Movie this year [Peter Jackson's seriously bloated "The Two Towers" and Martin Scorcese's overtly ponderous "Gangs of New York"]. They are fine movies to be sure, but it is refreshing to find a film that takes the gas out of the art form, and does it with a wetted down leather booted Mila Jovovich to boot.
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[ "Resident Evil is pap, stupid, predictable, violent, idiotic mayhem...", "and I loved every minute of it.", "I bought this DVD on a whim, and next to \"We Were Soldiers\" it was my favorite film of 2002.", "I laughed, shouted out advice or predictions, had a few suprises, and am maybe in love with Mila Jovovich.", "She looks simply fantastic, all wetted down in that little dress with her leather boots and kicking zombie butt.", "2002 had two revivals of creature feature mayhem at it's best; \"Eight Legged Freaks\" with it's Giant Mutant Spiders On The Loose theme and the adorable Scarlet Johanson, and \"Resident Evil\" resurrecting the Zombie Movie for the Internet generation.", "Every possible Zombie Movie convention or style is shamelessly ripped off or recycled, with doses of \"Aliens\", \"The Andromeda Strain\" and even \"The Matrix\" thrown in for good measure.", "The film even boasts repeated, close-up views of Digital Readouts [of varying colors] ticking down until the film's implied doomsday.", "I am a connesiour [sp?", "] of Digital Readout movies, and \"Resident Evil\" has the best Digital Readouts I have seen since \"The Six Million Dollar Man\".", "If you want to watch a movie where you are constantly reminded of how long the plot has until doomsday, this is the movie for you.", "It is also a movie that helpfully reminds its viewers of exactly what is going on every ten minutes or so by having a character list the plot details up to that point.", "This is done for the benefit of viewers who may have calculated that a run for the restroom is about due during the theatrical runs, and helps jar the memory of those who may not have been paying attention to every minute of the DVD.", "I found that helpful, because the people I watched it with and I were constantly discussing what was going on to the point where we were talking about the movie more than watching it.", "\"Resident Evil\" is an interactive film, and requires a sense of humor in addition to a strong stomach.", "I am sorry that I missed seeing this movie in a theater; two of my fondest cinema visits were the aforementioned \"Eight Legged Freaks\", where each and every one of the audience members were interacting with each other and the movie.", "And \"Starship Troopers\", which I saw in NYC with an audience that, like me, were besides themselves with hilarity during the entire running length.", "\"Resident Evil\" is very much a film in the same genre, and as such delivered the goods, and is certainly due for some sort of \"cult\" status as time goes on.", "It is truly Something Awful.", "But you know what?", "I'd rather have fun watching a movie than be subjected to an additional three hour purgatory like the two films that will probably contend for Best Movie this year [Peter Jackson's seriously bloated \"The Two Towers\" and Martin Scorcese's overtly ponderous \"Gangs of New York\"].", "They are fine movies to be sure, but it is refreshing to find a film that takes the gas out of the art form, and does it with a wetted down leather booted Mila Jovovich to boot." ]
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force is an fps with a great story driven single player gameplay and built on the fantastic quake III arena engine. It has a good storyline with perfect voice acting and a pretty good AI. I played it on the default opengl video mode and the game runs very smoothly. The graphics are fantastic, the xen like alien levels look very georgeous, sound recording is good. charecter animation are great, crew members look very life like. The level load times are good and save games do not eat up disk space. The length of ellite force is just right and it has a great multiplayer and single player tournament gameplay. The gameplay is good, but mostly you are playing with the AI team members and it is quite bad. The level design is good and there are lots of great puzzles to be solved, Action gameplay is slightly dissapointing as some of the levels are very linear and some of them are very difficult. I did not like the selection of weapons in ellite force, they are very badly done, their effects are very disspointing, almost all weapons just shoot a straight line of colored light. Star Trek Voyoger: Ellite Force is the best star wars based game ever made but i wish it was a little better as it is devoloped by raven software.
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[ "Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force is an fps with a great story driven single player gameplay and built on the fantastic quake III arena engine.", "It has a good storyline with perfect voice acting and a pretty good AI.", "I played it on the default opengl video mode and the game runs very smoothly.", "The graphics are fantastic, the xen like alien levels look very georgeous, sound recording is good.", "charecter animation are great, crew members look very life like.", "The level load times are good and save games do not eat up disk space.", "The length of ellite force is just right and it has a great multiplayer and single player tournament gameplay.", "The gameplay is good, but mostly you are playing with the AI team members and it is quite bad.", "The level design is good and there are lots of great puzzles to be solved, Action gameplay is slightly dissapointing as some of the levels are very linear and some of them are very difficult.", "I did not like the selection of weapons in ellite force, they are very badly done, their effects are very disspointing, almost all weapons just shoot a straight line of colored light.", "Star Trek Voyoger: Ellite Force is the best star wars based game ever made but i wish it was a little better as it is devoloped by raven software." ]
Did climate change contribute to Hurricane Harvey ? Climate change was not the cause of Hurricane Harvey but there's reason to think a warmer planet can make such storms more devastating. " Harvey was almost certainly more intense than it would have been in the absence of human-caused warming " said one scientist. Climate change didn't cause Hurricane Harvey . But scientists can say it likely made the storm worse according to Michael Mann a distinguished professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State. "If you look at the ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico they're at near-record warm levels about 87 Fahrenheit underneath Harvey right now that's about 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average for this time of year. That's a lot of extra heat energy available to evaporate water vapor into the air " Jeff Masters a meteorologist at The Weather Company who cofounded the weather-data website Weather Underground told Business Insider on Thursday. As Harvey picked up more moisture it rapidly strengthened from a tropical storm to a category 4 hurricane before making landfall after which it stalled as a tropical storm dumping so much rain that the National Weather Service had to add more colors to its map. Harvey has been described as a once-in-500-years-event though some spots could hit the once-in-a-million-years benchmark. But such events seem to be becoming more common as evidenced by major recent storms like Allison in 2001 Rita in 2005 and Ike in 2008. By some definitions the Houston area faced 500-year floods in both 2015 and 2016.
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[ "Did climate change contribute to Hurricane Harvey?", "Climate change was not the cause of Hurricane Harvey but there's reason to think a warmer planet can make such storms more devastating.", "\" Harvey was almost certainly more intense than it would have been in the absence of human-caused warming \" said one scientist.", "Climate change didn't cause Hurricane Harvey.", "But scientists can say it likely made the storm worse according to Michael Mann a distinguished professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State.", "\"If you look at the ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico they're at near-record warm levels about 87 Fahrenheit underneath Harvey right now that's about 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average for this time of year.", "That's a lot of extra heat energy available to evaporate water vapor into the air \" Jeff Masters a meteorologist at The Weather Company who cofounded the weather-data website Weather Underground told Business Insider on Thursday.", "As Harvey picked up more moisture it rapidly strengthened from a tropical storm to a category 4 hurricane before making landfall after which it stalled as a tropical storm dumping so much rain that the National Weather Service had to add more colors to its map.", "Harvey has been described as a once-in-500-years-event though some spots could hit the once-in-a-million-years benchmark.", "But such events seem to be becoming more common as evidenced by major recent storms like Allison in 2001 Rita in 2005 and Ike in 2008.", "By some definitions the Houston area faced 500-year floods in both 2015 and 2016." ]
Compare to it's five predecessors. this book is very disappointing. The storyline is good but I do not like the ending to this book. Dragonstar really does't do much in this book considering he's the hero. Ms. Douglass tries to keep us in suspense with who will win but this is a good vs. evil book and I would have been very upset if Dragonstar has lost. She ties this world into Earth in the prologue. Even though I didn't like that idea, I knew it was coming. But the ending was worse. I was hoping for Tencendor to be rebuilt with the Star Gate reestablish, the Star Dance back, everyone living in harmony, and Dragonstar and Faraday as their leaders. Instead she gives the ending religious undertones. She has everyone except the evil ones and the betrayers and StarDrifter living in a garden paradise (Garden of Eden?). After several years (if time exists in this garden), Dragonstar and Faraday leaves this garden and their family and friends behind to never return to go to another wasteland (Earth?) to help it. The only good thing about this book is it does keep you reading to find out what happens next.
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[ "Compare to it's five predecessors.", "this book is very disappointing.", "The storyline is good but I do not like the ending to this book.", "Dragonstar really does't do much in this book considering he's the hero.", "Ms.", "Douglass tries to keep us in suspense with who will win but this is a good vs.", "evil book and I would have been very upset if Dragonstar has lost.", "She ties this world into Earth in the prologue.", "Even though I didn't like that idea, I knew it was coming.", "But the ending\n\nwas worse.", "I was hoping for Tencendor to be rebuilt with the\n\nStar Gate reestablish, the Star Dance back, everyone living in harmony, and Dragonstar and Faraday as their leaders.", "Instead\n\nshe gives the ending religious undertones.", "She has everyone except the evil ones and the betrayers and StarDrifter living in a garden paradise (Garden of Eden?", ").", "After several years (if time exists in this garden), Dragonstar and Faraday leaves this garden and their family and friends behind to never return to go to another wasteland (Earth?", ") to help it.", "The only good thing about this book is it does keep you reading to find out what happens next." ]
The product works well enough to listen to the heart and lungs on a adult. If you're actually going to school to be a CNA or even a nurse. Well really any medical profession. Hopefully your teachers told you, you have to spend a little money on your medical supplies and equipment. This is not for a professional. It's more of a novelty item something the average person can use to listen to their own heart, but has little real life application for a medical professionals. The ear buds are very uncomfortable it does come with several additional parts you can change out. And it's a good price for someone who's buying it as a novelty. I would not buy it again, but I just needed something cheap to listen for a possible heart condition. So I knew what I was getting before I bought it, and it works for my purpose. However it is not a toy serious damage to a child's ear drums can result from them using this as a toy. So keep it out of reach of children's hands.
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[ "The product works well enough to listen to the heart and lungs on a adult.", "If you're actually going to school to be a CNA or even a nurse.", "Well really any medical profession.", "Hopefully your teachers told you, you have to spend a little money on your medical supplies and equipment.", "This is not for a professional.", "It's more of a novelty item something the average person can use to listen to their own heart, but has little real life application for a medical professionals.", "The ear buds are very uncomfortable it does come with several additional parts you can change out.", "And it's a good price for someone who's buying it as a novelty.", "I would not buy it again, but I just needed something cheap to listen for a possible heart condition.", "So I knew what I was getting before I bought it, and it works for my purpose.", "However it is not a toy serious damage to a child's ear drums can result from them using this as a toy.", "So keep it out of reach of children's hands." ]
Imagine a world where everything is perfect. A world where is no anxiety and no fear. A society where everyone fits perfectly into their predestined jobs that they have been modified and conditioned to perform. Every person slots in comfortably into their genetically engineered communities. Gone is that oh so inconvenient old age. Risk, struggle, and pain are thankfully archaic elements of the forgotten past. Gone are the antiquated institutions of marriage and family. Absent is that oppressive crutch of religion. Sexuality is the primary inalienable right. And for those moments that do not go as planned. Not to worry. Pop in a gram or two of the drug soma, and the rapturous equilibrium will return. This is a Brave New World. Huxleys tale follows the course of a curiously dissatisfied and empty Alpha who finds the Savage (John), someone who has grown up on a reservation isolated from the civilized world. What follows is a brutal clash of worldview and culture as John (perhaps representing the old world us) confronts the horrors of the modern perfection. To be frank the overall account is not an enjoyable read. It is morbid, tragic, and depressing. Stylistically A Brave New World is not of the type that I prefer. Huxley writes with a flowery abruptness that leaves many questions unanswered, but perhaps that was his intent. That is not to say what is written is unimportant. Huxleys dystopian society is one that is not only intellectually stimulating, but feels unnervingly prophetic. His futuristic world draws parallels to a modern western society that increasingly bows down to the idols of self and pleasure; a world that has nothing to die for and, conversely, finds nothing to live for. There is no past, there is no future. Just the hedonistic present. Perhaps it is the growing prominence of these parallels that makes A Brave New World so disconcerting.
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[ "Imagine a world where everything is perfect.", "A world where is no anxiety and no fear.", "A society where everyone fits perfectly into their predestined jobs that they have been modified and conditioned to perform.", "Every person slots in comfortably into their genetically engineered communities.", "Gone is that oh so inconvenient old age.", "Risk, struggle, and pain are thankfully archaic elements of the forgotten past.", "Gone are the antiquated institutions of marriage and family.", "Absent is that oppressive crutch of religion.", "Sexuality is the primary inalienable right.", "And for those moments that do not go as planned.", "Not to worry.", "Pop in a gram or two of the drug soma, and the rapturous equilibrium will return.", "This is a Brave New World.", "Huxleys tale follows the course of a curiously dissatisfied and empty Alpha who finds the Savage (John), someone who has grown up on a reservation isolated from the civilized world.", "What follows is a brutal clash of worldview and culture as John (perhaps representing the old world us) confronts the horrors of the modern perfection.", "To be frank the overall account is not an enjoyable read.", "It is morbid, tragic, and depressing.", "Stylistically A Brave New World is not of the type that I prefer.", "Huxley writes with a flowery abruptness that leaves many questions unanswered, but perhaps that was his intent.", "That is not to say what is written is unimportant.", "Huxleys dystopian society is one that is not only intellectually stimulating, but feels unnervingly prophetic.", "His futuristic world draws parallels to a modern western society that increasingly bows down to the idols of self and pleasure; a world that has nothing to die for and, conversely, finds nothing to live for.", "There is no past, there is no future.", "Just the hedonistic present.", "Perhaps it is the growing prominence of these parallels that makes A Brave New World so disconcerting." ]
Clive Barker, who is probably best known for his work on the Hellraiser series delivers, well, exactly what you'd expect him too. Which basically includes lots of scenes of perverse sexuality, gore and references to the devil. If you aren't framiliar with Barker, I'm sure you'll find much of this shocking or horrifying. If you are framiliar with Barker, you'll know that he has much better works out there. This is the plot: ancient Romanian do-dad, in this case, an entire room, is brought over to their hollywood home, Coldheart Canyon. Mental note: Everything Romanian is evil. Throw in an assortment of stereotypical characters, a dejected boyfriend, a timeless hollywood siren, a thuggish bodyguard, a greedy producer, a heartless talent agent, an overweight housewife and a modern movie star.....the sort you would expect in "a hollywood ghost story". You keep waiting for someone to axe off these annoying characters, but instead they ramble on and on about the housewife's weight loss of 32 pounds, her husband's affair with the woman at the FedEx office, or how hard it is to be an agless siren who is getting really really bored with every conceivable act of perverse pleasure and how, no really, she actually loves the main character, really. It's different this time.... So basically, if you are looking for surprises or even horror and you aren't easily shocked, you should probably look elsewhere.
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[ "Clive Barker, who is probably best known for his work on the Hellraiser series delivers, well, exactly what you'd expect him too.", "Which basically includes lots of scenes of perverse sexuality, gore and references to the devil.", "If you aren't framiliar with Barker, I'm sure you'll find much of this shocking or horrifying.", "If you are framiliar with Barker, you'll know that he has much better works out there.", "This is the plot: ancient Romanian do-dad, in this case, an entire room, is brought over to their hollywood home, Coldheart Canyon.", "Mental note: Everything Romanian is evil.", "Throw in an assortment of stereotypical characters, a dejected boyfriend, a timeless hollywood siren, a thuggish bodyguard, a greedy producer, a heartless talent agent, an overweight housewife and a modern movie star....", ".", "the sort you would expect in \"a hollywood ghost story\".", "You keep waiting for someone to axe off these annoying characters, but instead they ramble on and on about the housewife's weight loss of 32 pounds, her husband's affair with the woman at the FedEx office, or how hard it is to be an agless siren who is getting really really bored with every conceivable act of perverse pleasure and how, no really, she actually loves the main character, really.", "It's different this time....", "So basically, if you are looking for surprises or even horror and you aren't easily shocked, you should probably look elsewhere." ]
3STARS...NOT BECAUSE IT ISN'T A GOOD MOVIE BECAUSE IT IS BUT I fell asleep on this movie five times before I just got determined to see it through but I fell asleep and had to rewound it many times to see the end with clarity. I doubt if I will ever watch it again because I am sure I would fall asleep but not from boredom... because IT IS NOT BORING but the context gets too comfortable and it does get too predictable. A movie like this... you want it to end the way it ends; you don't want WILL to lose his chance to have a good American life especially when he's born with special talents and traits: he's a """mathematical artist"""". He's a 'math artist' until he proves that he is a ''''mathematical master''''. That's the way I like to view it. He has to do the work. He has to do it for his country and do it for himself because he's not there. He doesn't feel ''privileged''... he doesn't want to embrace such a life. He's been beaten down; he wants to stay there and wallow in self-pity while yearning to get up and do something that he knows he can do but then that's the part about himself he wants to hate but he can't. He needs a bit convincing. And Will Hunting understands that but what he doesn't like about it is this: he feels owned and manipulated and pushed into something when he isn't ready for. He isn't clear about himself and who he is (at that age; we all suffer some of that). Will wants to escape yet stay the same...like his buddies declared upon themselves. I do love Robin Williams and I do like Matt Damon but these are the same performances they do in the future in other movies. I'm just now seeing "Hunting" in 2016. I have seen other productions, which ends up being ''''in the future''''while watching this movie now is looking into the past. NO MATTER. These guys are great on the screen past, present and will be in the future. THAT CHEMISTRY IS THERE. In fact, that's what this film is: "good chemistry" and that may be the reason I can't stay awake to watch it because "it didn't have me holding on to my seat"; "I was very comfortable'' and cozy knowing there was nothing to fear ...and WILL would get all the perks and the girl too. ALL THAT HELP. WILL HUNTING GOT A LOT OF HELP. THAT WAS IN 1997, or so. Our country is better when we get our young people launched with our help. I say this in October, 2016... just before a most HAZARDOUS election. We don't know where our country is headed and we have lots of "rogue cops" across the country.. People are being killed for no reason at all. It's very scary times; very intense; America has cells of terrorism. AND THAT'S REAL, REALLY, REALLY REAL. "GOOD WILL HUNTING" IS IDEAL, REALLY, REALLY IDEAL. So now I see WHY I can't set-in with this movie. In this day and times: GOOD WILL -IS NOT- HUNTING!!!
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[ "3STARS...", "NOT BECAUSE IT ISN'T A GOOD MOVIE BECAUSE IT IS BUT I fell asleep on this movie five times before I just got determined to see it through but I fell asleep and had to rewound it many times to see the end with clarity.", "I doubt if I will ever watch it again because I am sure I would fall asleep but not from boredom...", "because IT IS NOT BORING but the context gets too comfortable and it does get too predictable.", "A movie like this...", "you want it to end the way it ends; you don't want WILL to lose his chance to have a good American life especially when he's born with special talents and traits: he's a \"\"\"mathematical artist\"\"\"\".", "He's a 'math artist' until he proves that he is a ''''mathematical master''''.", "That's the way I like to view it.", "He has to do the work.", "He has to do it for his country and do it for himself because he's not there.", "He doesn't feel ''privileged''...", "he doesn't want to embrace such a life.", "He's been beaten down; he wants to stay there and wallow in self-pity while yearning to get up and do something that he knows he can do but then that's the part about himself he wants to hate but he can't.", "He needs a bit convincing.", "And Will Hunting understands that but what he doesn't like about it is this: he feels owned and manipulated and pushed into something when he isn't ready for.", "He isn't clear about himself and who he is (at that age; we all suffer some of that).", "Will wants to escape yet stay the same...", "like his buddies declared upon themselves.", "I do love Robin Williams and I do like Matt Damon but these are the same performances they do in the future in other movies.", "I'm just now seeing \"Hunting\" in 2016.", "I have seen other productions, which ends up being ''''in the future''''while watching this movie now is looking into the past.", "NO MATTER.", "These guys are great on the screen past, present and will be in the future.", "THAT CHEMISTRY IS THERE.", "In fact, that's what this film is: \"good chemistry\" and that may be the reason I can't stay awake to watch it because \"it didn't have me holding on to my seat\"; \"I was very comfortable'' and cozy knowing there was nothing to fear...", "and WILL would get all the perks and the girl too.", "ALL THAT HELP.", "WILL HUNTING GOT A LOT OF HELP.", "THAT WAS IN 1997, or so.", "Our country is better when we get our young people launched with our help.", "I say this in October, 2016...", "just before a most HAZARDOUS election.", "We don't know where our country is headed and we have lots of \"rogue cops\" across the country..", "People are being killed for no reason at all.", "It's very scary times; very intense; America has cells of terrorism.", "AND THAT'S REAL, REALLY, REALLY REAL.", "\"GOOD WILL HUNTING\" IS IDEAL, REALLY, REALLY IDEAL.", "So now I see WHY I can't set-in with this movie.", "In this day and times: GOOD WILL -IS NOT- HUNTING!!!" ]
I got it, but only because I suffered a recent loss in my life, a dear friend and companion. That's what this story is about and that's who it's meant for. And unless you've recently suffered a similar experience, it'll probably seem sappy. I can see how some reviewers didn't connect. I also felt O'Connor intentionally (or not) distanced herself from the story, and it shows. The lines felt like they were supposed to be deep and emotional and instead felt a bit overworked. Maybe they were. The beauty of emotional writing is to write while the experience is still raw and then leave it. Don't "fix" it later. This felt too fixed. I appreciate the sentiment, however, and I think anyone wanting some semblance of "I'm not the only one" following such a loss to read this book. But don't expect too much.
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[ "I got it, but only because I suffered a recent loss in my life, a dear friend and companion.", "That's what this story is about and that's who it's meant for.", "And unless you've recently suffered a similar experience, it'll probably seem sappy.", "I can see how some reviewers didn't connect.", "I also felt O'Connor intentionally (or not) distanced herself from the story, and it shows.", "The lines felt like they were supposed to be deep and emotional and instead felt a bit overworked.", "Maybe they were.", "The beauty of emotional writing is to write while the experience is still raw and then leave it.", "Don't \"fix\" it later.", "This felt too fixed.", "I appreciate the sentiment, however, and I think anyone wanting some semblance of \"I'm not the only one\" following such a loss to read this book.", "But don't expect too much." ]
It's great that Amazon is picking up international beauty brands that are hard to get otherwise. Uslu Airlines is a German brand that is best known for their airbrush makeup, and used to be hard to get in the US. The thing with lipstick colors, though, is that because it's not like you can run by Sephora or Ulta and test these brands before buying online, Amazon needs to figure out a much better way to help customers choose cosmetics without fear of wasting money on the wrong shade. This is a perfect example of the problem. It really depends on what monitor or display you're using as to how the shade appears on your screen. Moreover, it depends on how accurate the color correction was on the original photo. I checked out Uslu's website, and their images were no more helpful. When it first arrived, the AAL shade in the tube looked nothing like either of the photos shown here--it was a cooler pink that, try as I might, I couldn't get an accurate photo of, even using a light box. I may try taking another photo in natural light later. Nevertheless, the image shade here looks different on different screens in my house. On some, it looks more accurate; on others, it looks nothing like the actual product. (In a perfect online cosmetics world, companies would include a few different shots of the actual product on actual lips for each color!) However, I'll do my best to describe the shade when you put it on. This is a sheer color, but is the oddest sheer I've ever tested. It goes on with almost a gloss/moisturizer feel, yet deposits more opaque, high-value [color w/ more white in it] peach pigments in the grooves of your skin in a very weird-looking way. Not pretty. Uslu's lipstick is meant to be somewhat sheer with a single application, but with the potential to be built up by applied layers to a more pigmented, dense look. In the case of this shade, though, that single layer does *not* work for a sheer look (unless you just want to use it more as a tinted moisturizer and rub your lips together). You can definitely build this up to a sort of 60's pale high-value peachy-pink look, but it's a bit too moist and shiny to really stay in place. Definitely not a good shade for my coloring, but if you're Caucasian and fair, this will complement you. Bottom line: If the formula is the same for all shades, I'd see this product as a great, moisturizing sheer lipstick and go for the darker shades to match the tone of your skin. But if you're looking for a darker or more saturated (or matte) look, I'm not sure this would be the best pick, nor will you probably get the exact shade you're seeing on the screen. A few minor things: I agree with the other reviewers--the case is awesome (yay German design!). Also, I may just be more sensitive than most, but this definitely wasn't tasteless. There's certainly a subtle typical plasticky lipstick taste when you first apply it, but it's not terrible and dissipates. There's no added artificial parfum or flavor to the formula, so that's what you get. Lastly, I can't go without giving Uslu products props for being cruelty-free. Say no to animal testing!
1
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[ "It's great that Amazon is picking up international beauty brands that are hard to get otherwise.", "Uslu Airlines is a German brand that is best known for their airbrush makeup, and used to be hard to get in the US.", "The thing with lipstick colors, though, is that because it's not like you can run by Sephora or Ulta and test these brands before buying online, Amazon needs to figure out a much better way to help customers choose cosmetics without fear of wasting money on the wrong shade.", "This is a perfect example of the problem.", "It really depends on what monitor or display you're using as to how the shade appears on your screen.", "Moreover, it depends on how accurate the color correction was on the original photo.", "I checked out Uslu's website, and their images were no more helpful.", "When it first arrived, the AAL shade in the tube looked nothing like either of the photos shown here--it was a cooler pink that, try as I might, I couldn't get an accurate photo of, even using a light box.", "I may try taking another photo in natural light later.", "Nevertheless, the image shade here looks different on different screens in my house.", "On some, it looks more accurate; on others, it looks nothing like the actual product.", "(In a perfect online cosmetics world, companies would include a few different shots of the actual product on actual lips for each color!", ")\n\nHowever, I'll do my best to describe the shade when you put it on.", "This is a sheer color, but is the oddest sheer I've ever tested.", "It goes on with almost a gloss/moisturizer feel, yet deposits more opaque, high-value [color w/ more white in it] peach pigments in the grooves of your skin in a very weird-looking way.", "Not pretty.", "Uslu's lipstick is meant to be somewhat sheer with a single application, but with the potential to be built up by applied layers to a more pigmented, dense look.", "In the case of this shade, though, that single layer does *not* work for a sheer look (unless you just want to use it more as a tinted moisturizer and rub your lips together).", "You can definitely build this up to a sort of 60's pale high-value peachy-pink look, but it's a bit too moist and shiny to really stay in place.", "Definitely not a good shade for my coloring, but if you're Caucasian and fair, this will complement you.", "Bottom line: If the formula is the same for all shades, I'd see this product as a great, moisturizing sheer lipstick and go for the darker shades to match the tone of your skin.", "But if you're looking for a darker or more saturated (or matte) look, I'm not sure this would be the best pick, nor will you probably get the exact shade you're seeing on the screen.", "A few minor things: I agree with the other reviewers--the case is awesome (yay German design!", ").", "Also, I may just be more sensitive than most, but this definitely wasn't tasteless.", "There's certainly a subtle typical plasticky lipstick taste when you first apply it, but it's not terrible and dissipates.", "There's no added artificial parfum or flavor to the formula, so that's what you get.", "Lastly, I can't go without giving Uslu products props for being cruelty-free.", "Say no to animal testing!" ]
Democrats must be ready to take this drastic step against Trump Today various groups in the Senate will move toward putting forth proposals that would legalize as many as 1.8 million dreamers in exchange for concessions. Axios reports that a “senior administration official” says President Trump will veto anything that does not advance all of his demands: a wall on the border and an end to the diversity visa lottery system and family-based migration which would mean deep cuts to legal immigration. That senior official claimed that this constitutes “the mainstream middle ground on immigration.” GOP senators are making similar claims. John Cornyn (Tex.) says the president shouldn’t budge because his proposal is “enormously generous ” while Democrats are being “heartless” toward the dreamers by failing to accept it. Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.) insists that Trump’s proposal is a “sweet bipartisan deal ” and that if Dems reject it Republicans are “looking pretty good from a PR standpoint.” Trump is the one who ended protections for the dreamers to begin with. Trump then said he wanted Congress to come up with a bipartisan solution protecting them in a more permanent way. Trump has repeatedly said protecting the dreamers is the right thing to do. Whether he means this or not is beside the point; perhaps entirely because he doesn’t want to be blamed for driving them underground he wants to be associated with an outcome in which they are protected. Dem and GOP senators produced a version of the deal Trump asked for one in which the dreamers would be legalized in exchange for cutting diversity visas and nixing any possibility of legalization for the dreamers’ parents. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer even expressed openness to giving Trump money for his wall. Trump rejected those offers. Dems repeatedly asked administration officials what further concessions they might accept and got no answer. Now officials are threatening a veto if Trump doesn’t get everything he wants and Republicans are describing this as the middle-ground position. It is true that Democrats won’t give Trump everything he wants. As Dylan Scott and Tara Golshan lay out numerous proposals legalizing the dreamers will likely be voted on this week. One is close to what Trump wants and would cut legal immigration by huge amounts. Another wouldn’t cut legal immigration but would give Trump the border security money he wants. Still another would shift some visas toward the skills-based system he wants but probably without cutting overall legal immigration flows. Many people following the debate also expect a proposal to emerge that gives Trump money for the wall in exchange for protecting the dreamers. Yes Democrats will vote against plans that deeply cut legal immigration. But they will likely support bills that make at least some of these other concessions and perhaps more. (Time will tell.) By contrast Trump and most Republicans will very likely oppose the bills that give both sides some of what they want and continue to insist on basically giving Trump all of what he wants. This is not a balanced situation particularly since Trump wants to be associated with protecting the dreamers anyway. It is true that many congressional Republicans don’t actually want to protect the dreamers and view doing this as a concession. But they are nonetheless going along with Trump in demanding far more in concessions than Democrats are. The Republicans’ position is that they won’t protect the dreamers unless Democrats give Trump all the border-security money and deep cuts to legal immigration he wants — while calling that a compromise. If Trump and Republicans are going to stick to this position Democrats really have no choice but to say no. This way of doing business must be flatly repudiated. If Trump and Republicans don’t want to protect the dreamers then so be it. And by the way if Dems do walk away they will have the support of many of the dreamers themselves. “If they’re going to demand the Stephen Miller wish list Democrats should say no ” Greisa Martinez Rosas the director of advocacy and policy for United We Dream told me this morning. “There’s a line for how much we will allow Trump and Miller to extract for our protection.” It had been held by a Republican in Sarasota County where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 12 000 or about 10 percentage points. … Trump had carried the district by 4.6 percentage points in a state that he won by just 1.2 points … Good’s win was the 36th Republican legislative seat in the nation that a Democrat has won since 2016. Amid all the chatter about the tightening generic ballot and Trump’s slightly rising approval we keep getting good signs like this one. * REPUBLICANS FRET ABOUT DEM WINS: Dave Weigel puts the big Florida upset in context pointing out that even Republicans will be worried about what it portends. Here ’s Trump ’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski: “They’re winning elections in places where they shouldn’t be. We’ve seen them win statehouse seats in Wisconsin. We’ve seen them win big mayor ’s races in New Hampshire. Fifty seats have already changed hands from Republicans to Democrats since President Trump took office. Make no mistake: The Democrats are unified.” And Trump is very likely to keep on giving. * TRUMP WORRIES ABOUT HOW PORTER MESS AFFECTS HIM: The Post reports this remarkable tidbit: The president has said little publicly about the Porter issue other than to praise the former aide for doing “a very good job.” But he has privately expressed frustration with the week-long fallout peppering advisers and confidants with questions about the media coverage and how the controversy is playing for him personally. See? Who says Trump isn’t concerned about domestic abuse? * DEMS BLAST TRUMP’S HANDLING OF PORTER: Related to the above Schumer argues that there’s an obvious deficiency in Trump’s treatment of the Porter scandal:
1
neutral
[ "Democrats must be ready to take this drastic step against Trump\nToday various groups in the Senate will move toward putting forth proposals that would legalize as many as 1.", "8 million dreamers in exchange for concessions.", "Axios reports that a “senior administration official” says President Trump will veto anything that does not advance all of his demands: a wall on the border and an end to the diversity visa lottery system and family-based migration which would mean deep cuts to legal immigration.", "That senior official claimed that this constitutes “the mainstream middle ground on immigration.", "” GOP senators are making similar claims.", "John Cornyn (Tex.", ") says the president shouldn’t budge because his proposal is “enormously generous ” while Democrats are being “heartless” toward the dreamers by failing to accept it.", "Sen.", "Roger Wicker (Miss.", ") insists that Trump’s proposal is a “sweet bipartisan deal ” and that if Dems reject it Republicans are “looking pretty good from a PR standpoint.", "”\n Trump is the one who ended protections for the dreamers to begin with.", "Trump then said he wanted Congress to come up with a bipartisan solution protecting them in a more permanent way.", "Trump has repeatedly said protecting the dreamers is the right thing to do.", "Whether he means this or not is beside the point; perhaps entirely because he doesn’t want to be blamed for driving them underground he wants to be associated with an outcome in which they are protected.", "Dem and GOP senators produced a version of the deal Trump asked for one in which the dreamers would be legalized in exchange for cutting diversity visas and nixing any possibility of legalization for the dreamers’ parents.", "Senate Minority Leader Charles E.", "Schumer even expressed openness to giving Trump money for his wall.", "Trump rejected those offers.", "Dems repeatedly asked administration officials what further concessions they might accept and got no answer.", "Now officials are threatening a veto if Trump doesn’t get everything he wants and Republicans are describing this as the middle-ground position.", "It is true that Democrats won’t give Trump everything he wants.", "As Dylan Scott and Tara Golshan lay out numerous proposals legalizing the dreamers will likely be voted on this week.", "One is close to what Trump wants and would cut legal immigration by huge amounts.", "Another wouldn’t cut legal immigration but would give Trump the border security money he wants.", "Still another would shift some visas toward the skills-based system he wants but probably without cutting overall legal immigration flows.", "Many people following the debate also expect a proposal to emerge that gives Trump money for the wall in exchange for protecting the dreamers.", "Yes Democrats will vote against plans that deeply cut legal immigration.", "But they will likely support bills that make at least some of these other concessions and perhaps more.", "(Time will tell.", ")\nBy contrast Trump and most Republicans will very likely oppose the bills that give both sides some of what they want and continue to insist on basically giving Trump all of what he wants.", "This is not a balanced situation particularly since Trump wants to be associated with protecting the dreamers anyway.", "It is true that many congressional Republicans don’t actually want to protect the dreamers and view doing this as a concession.", "But they are nonetheless going along with Trump in demanding far more in concessions than Democrats are.", "The Republicans’ position is that they won’t protect the dreamers unless Democrats give Trump all the border-security money and deep cuts to legal immigration he wants — while calling that a compromise.", "If Trump and Republicans are going to stick to this position Democrats really have no choice but to say no.", "This way of doing business must be flatly repudiated.", "If Trump and Republicans don’t want to protect the dreamers then so be it.", "And by the way if Dems do walk away they will have the support of many of the dreamers themselves.", "“If they’re going to demand the Stephen Miller wish list Democrats should say no ” Greisa Martinez Rosas the director of advocacy and policy for United We Dream told me this morning.", "“There’s a line for how much we will allow Trump and Miller to extract for our protection.", "”\nIt had been held by a Republican in Sarasota County where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 12 000 or about 10 percentage points.", "… Trump had carried the district by 4.", "6 percentage points in a state that he won by just 1.", "2 points … Good’s win was the 36th Republican legislative seat in the nation that a Democrat has won since 2016.", "Amid all the chatter about the tightening generic ballot and Trump’s slightly rising approval we keep getting good signs like this one.", "* REPUBLICANS FRET ABOUT DEM WINS: Dave Weigel puts the big Florida upset in context pointing out that even Republicans will be worried about what it portends.", "Here ’s Trump ’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski:\n“They’re winning elections in places where they shouldn’t be.", "We’ve seen them win statehouse seats in Wisconsin.", "We’ve seen them win big mayor ’s races in New Hampshire.", "Fifty seats have already changed hands from Republicans to Democrats since President Trump took office.", "Make no mistake: The Democrats are unified.", "”\nAnd Trump is very likely to keep on giving.", "* TRUMP WORRIES ABOUT HOW PORTER MESS AFFECTS HIM: The Post reports this remarkable tidbit:\n The president has said little publicly about the Porter issue other than to praise the former aide for doing “a very good job.", "” But he has privately expressed frustration with the week-long fallout peppering advisers and confidants with questions about the media coverage and how the controversy is playing for him personally.", "See?", "Who says Trump isn’t concerned about domestic abuse?", "* DEMS BLAST TRUMP’S HANDLING OF PORTER: Related to the above Schumer argues that there’s an obvious deficiency in Trump’s treatment of the Porter scandal:" ]
I don't want to make an assumption about Truesdale, but is this one of her early works? I can't help but think so based on how this book is structured. It seems like she attempted to frame Descendant with a foundation straight out of a textbook. I DON'T NECESSARILY DEEM THAT A BAD THING! But, it was kind of loose and rickety if you know what I mean; like she didn't exactly build it right. Things seemed to happen with little relevance to the story; as if under-developed thoughts were put into the plot. (SPOILER): For example, I am still reeling with confusion as to why Kael aided in Alex's kidnapping, then turned right around and rescued her with little rhyme or reason. It seemed like he might have had a good reason, but it wasn't really explained nor made sense of. I am, however, thrilled with the voltaic relationship between Alex and Kael. I like the roller coaster that is their love life. Ha. It's interesting and requires perseverance. Unfortunately, that doesn't make this a better book. The action wasn't that bad either. Although it was sometimes confusing, I was generally satisfied with it. The ending is a cliffhanger, but I think I saw the edge coming and brought a rope because I'm not waiting for the bridge to be built. (LMAO. Does that make sense?) ANYWAY, this is just another one of those time-filler books in my opinion. If I ever get time, I might come back and read the second book just to see how Alex and Kael are faring.
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[ "I don't want to make an assumption about Truesdale, but is this one of her early works?", "I can't help but think so based on how this book is structured.", "It seems like she attempted to frame Descendant with a foundation straight out of a textbook.", "I DON'T NECESSARILY DEEM THAT A BAD THING!", "But, it was kind of loose and rickety if you know what I mean; like she didn't exactly build it right.", "Things seemed to happen with little relevance to the story; as if under-developed thoughts were put into the plot.", "(SPOILER): For example, I am still reeling with confusion as to why Kael aided in Alex's kidnapping, then turned right around and rescued her with little rhyme or reason.", "It seemed like he might have had a good reason, but it wasn't really explained nor made sense of.", "I am, however, thrilled with the voltaic relationship between Alex and Kael.", "I like the roller coaster that is their love life.", "Ha.", "It's interesting and requires perseverance.", "Unfortunately, that doesn't make this a better book.", "The action wasn't that bad either.", "Although it was sometimes confusing, I was generally satisfied with it.", "The ending is a cliffhanger, but I think I saw the edge coming and brought a rope because I'm not waiting for the bridge to be built.", "(LMAO.", "Does that make sense?", ") ANYWAY, this is just another one of those time-filler books in my opinion.", "If I ever get time, I might come back and read the second book just to see how Alex and Kael are faring." ]
Sandinista! certainly won't go down as the best Clash record. Taking the sprawling muse of the classic London Calling and going even further with it, this triple-LP (whoa!) has no direction or cohesion whatsoever. Rock, reggae, dub, hip-hop (!), gospel (!!), ska, funk, jazz, waltz, dub, and even a children's ditty can be found here and more. "Artistic vision" or not, this is an album badly in need of an editor. Perhaps they took the "The only band that matters" line a little too close to heart. But before you bash this album as an unforgivable disaster on the part of Strummer & Co., listen to it. There's definitely solid material on here, albeit only enough for one 35-40 min. LP and not three. At its best, the music is no less effective than the best parts of London Calling. The Magnificent Seven is a great opener and demonstrates the band's fascination with the emerging hip-hop culture. Somebody Got Murdered, Charlie Don't Surf (classic), The Call Up, Something About England, Washington Bullets (the album's title track and one of the band's best reggae tracks), Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice), Up In Heaven (Not Only Here), and Police On My Back (the closest thing to a standard Clash punk tune) all rule. Strummer and Jones' vocals are still in fine form, and the politically charged lyrics have some bite (albeit a bit more rambling than on previous efforts). However, the rest of the album is often less than B-side level. I mean, come on, a children's choir version of Career Opportunites? Are you serious? The Sound Of Sinners, a hackneyed attempt at gospel is also rubbish. While London Calling offered some solid forays into pop (Spanish Bombs, Train In Vain), most of Sandinista!'s attempts at the style are New Wave-esque, cheesy, and embarrassing. A clear foreshadowing of the direction they'd take on the even worse Combat Rock. My thoughts? The first three Clash albums are indispensible; get 'em first, starting with the Green Album (one of the finest '77 offerings available). Borrow a copy of Sandinista! from a friend or buy it used, then cull the best tracks and burn your own version of Sandinista!. Don't bother with the rest of The Clash discography unless you're a completist.
1
neutral
[ "Sandinista!", "certainly won't go down as the best Clash record.", "Taking the sprawling muse of the classic London Calling and going even further with it, this triple-LP (whoa!", ") has no direction or cohesion whatsoever.", "Rock, reggae, dub, hip-hop (!", "), gospel (!!", "), ska, funk, jazz, waltz, dub, and even a children's ditty can be found here and more.", "\"Artistic vision\" or not, this is an album badly in need of an editor.", "Perhaps they took the \"The only band that matters\" line a little too close to heart.", "But before you bash this album as an unforgivable disaster on the part of Strummer & Co.", ", listen to it.", "There's definitely solid material on here, albeit only enough for one 35-40 min.", "LP and not three.", "At its best, the music is no less effective than the best parts of London Calling.", "The Magnificent Seven is a great opener and demonstrates the band's fascination with the emerging hip-hop culture.", "Somebody Got Murdered, Charlie Don't Surf (classic), The Call Up, Something About England, Washington Bullets (the album's title track and one of the band's best reggae tracks), Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice), Up In Heaven (Not Only Here), and Police On My Back (the closest thing to a standard Clash punk tune) all rule.", "Strummer and Jones' vocals are still in fine form, and the politically charged lyrics have some bite (albeit a bit more rambling than on previous efforts).", "However, the rest of the album is often less than B-side level.", "I mean, come on, a children's choir version of Career Opportunites?", "Are you serious?", "The Sound Of Sinners, a hackneyed attempt at gospel is also rubbish.", "While London Calling offered some solid forays into pop (Spanish Bombs, Train In Vain), most of Sandinista!", "'s attempts at the style are New Wave-esque, cheesy, and embarrassing.", "A clear foreshadowing of the direction they'd take on the even worse Combat Rock.", "My thoughts?", "The first three Clash albums are indispensible; get 'em first, starting with the Green Album (one of the finest '77 offerings available).", "Borrow a copy of Sandinista!", "from a friend or buy it used, then cull the best tracks and burn your own version of Sandinista!.", "Don't bother with the rest of The Clash discography unless you're a completist." ]
This game is fun but it's more like a huge expansion pack. No worries there, it's a good ride. Lots of cars to choose from. The problems: - Developers seemed to have ignored the multiplayer option. Replays can only be shown on split screen. (Not a big deal if you don't care.) - No driving aids available for 2 person battle on garage cars. Tire spin for an entire lap could be avoided. - Terrible instructions. - "Data corrupted" on memory caard after completeing %75 of game. Read online that this can happen. It was fun, but I'm taking it back. I'll keep my GT3, though.
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neutral
[ "This game is fun but it's more like a huge expansion pack.", "No worries there, it's a good ride.", "Lots of cars to choose from.", "The problems:\n\n- Developers seemed to have ignored the multiplayer option.", "Replays can only be shown on split screen.", "(Not a big deal if you don't care.", ")\n\n- No driving aids available for 2 person battle on garage cars.", "Tire spin for an entire lap could be avoided.", "- Terrible instructions.", "- \"Data corrupted\" on memory caard after completeing %75 of game.", "Read online that this can happen.", "It was fun, but I'm taking it back.", "I'll keep my GT3, though." ]
Biting sarcasm as only can be delivered by Mr. Black. Not everyone's cup of tea. Smart? Yep. Coarse? You betcha! He's everything that's good and bad about satire and the American culture. If you can stand his near-stroke delivery, you will be entertained and enlightened. Good Luck!
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[ "Biting sarcasm as only can be delivered by Mr.", "Black.", "Not everyone's cup of tea.", "Smart?", "Yep.", "Coarse?", "You betcha!", "He's everything that's good and bad about satire and the American culture.", "If you can stand his near-stroke delivery, you will be entertained and enlightened.", "Good Luck!" ]
Baby Hospitalized 17 Times for Food Allergies E-5 Corpsman Sean has no problem balancing giving his best to the Navy and being Dad. His wife Jessica couldn’t be more appreciative. Jessica says “I am so proud of him. He is a very strong hard worker. He would do anything for our family and I think for his job and I think for our country.” Sean is quick to give Jessica just as much praise. Sean says “Not only am I serving but she ’s serving as well. She has to deal with the sacrifices of moving away from the family dealing with the boys all by herself a lot of times when I’m out in the field. It’s awesome. I just think she ’s an amazing person.” Jessica continues “We really have to plan and budget what we can eat. I worry at night 'is there something I can sell in the house just to get Cohen a special meal so he can have something special this week?' I’ll look through old toys or maybe old clothes that we have. Anything that could maybe be of value to someone else just to get an extra $10 for that week.” While researching Cohen's rare condition Jessica found a physician who specialized in the disease. But the doctor didn’t accept military insurance. The couple simply couldn’t afford the cost. Jessica says “We know there’s somebody there that can possibly give us more answers. And it’s out of our reach. It’s the most like heart wrenching feeling ever.” Then the couple learned both of their vehicles needed brake repairs and new tires. As Christians Sean and Jessica relied on their faith in God to keep them going. Their church New Song in Oceanside CA asked CBN’s Helping the Home Front to get involved. Pastor Hall Seed invited Sean and Jessica over to let them know we were fixing the brakes and buying four new tires for both vehicles. Pastor Hal says “ We ’re going to do that this afternoon. We ’re going to go down there and get your car fixed. And CBN’s going to pay for it." Jessica exclaims “Oh my goodness!” Jessica says “Wow that’s amazing. Just last night we had to go buy three almond milks for him and we had to think 'okay we have $10 to make this work. Like where can we find a coupon for it?' That’s amazing.” Pastor Hal says “And that specialist you’ve been praying about? We are going to pay for that too. All we have to do is set the schedule." Pastor Hal took Sean and Jessica to Cornerstone to repair the brakes and buy new tires. Then he took them shopping to get stocked up on food for Cohen. And the family set the schedule for the specialist who can give them answers about Cohen’s condition. Jessica concludes “God is so good. Even when you can’t see he’s working. He’s working if you could just trust in Him he’s always working and he’s always on your side.”
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[ "Baby Hospitalized 17 Times for Food Allergies\nE-5 Corpsman Sean has no problem balancing giving his best to the Navy and being Dad.", "His wife Jessica couldn’t be more appreciative.", "Jessica says “I am so proud of him.", "He is a very strong hard worker.", "He would do anything for our family and I think for his job and I think for our country.", "”\nSean is quick to give Jessica just as much praise.", "Sean says “Not only am I serving but she ’s serving as well.", "She has to deal with the sacrifices of moving away from the family dealing with the boys all by herself a lot of times when I’m out in the field.", "It’s awesome.", "I just think she ’s an amazing person.", "”\n Jessica continues “We really have to plan and budget what we can eat.", "I worry at night 'is there something I can sell in the house just to get Cohen a special meal so he can have something special this week?", "' I’ll look through old toys or maybe old clothes that we have.", "Anything that could maybe be of value to someone else just to get an extra $10 for that week.", "”\nWhile researching Cohen's rare condition Jessica found a physician who specialized in the disease.", "But the doctor didn’t accept military insurance.", "The couple simply couldn’t afford the cost.", "Jessica says “We know there’s somebody there that can possibly give us more answers.", "And it’s out of our reach.", "It’s the most like heart wrenching feeling ever.", "”\nThen the couple learned both of their vehicles needed brake repairs and new tires.", "As Christians Sean and Jessica relied on their faith in God to keep them going.", "Their church New Song in Oceanside CA asked CBN’s Helping the Home Front to get involved.", "Pastor Hall Seed invited Sean and Jessica over to let them know we were fixing the brakes and buying four new tires for both vehicles.", "Pastor Hal says “ We ’re going to do that this afternoon.", "We ’re going to go down there and get your car fixed.", "And CBN’s going to pay for it.", "\"\nJessica exclaims “Oh my goodness!", "”\n Jessica says “Wow that’s amazing.", "Just last night we had to go buy three almond milks for him and we had to think 'okay we have $10 to make this work.", "Like where can we find a coupon for it?", "' That’s amazing.", "”\nPastor Hal says “And that specialist you’ve been praying about?", "We are going to pay for that too.", "All we have to do is set the schedule.", "\"\nPastor Hal took Sean and Jessica to Cornerstone to repair the brakes and buy new tires.", "Then he took them shopping to get stocked up on food for Cohen.", "And the family set the schedule for the specialist who can give them answers about Cohen’s condition.", "Jessica concludes “God is so good.", "Even when you can’t see he’s working.", "He’s working if you could just trust in Him he’s always working and he’s always on your side.", "”" ]
This is a nice racing game with 5 different unique control schemes which all using the Wii remote abilities in special ways. The main and really only problem with the game is that it is night time all the time and all the races are within the same similar looking city levels so the variety of tracks is not so great and the night time stuff looks good at first but once you get faster cars it starts to just strain the eyes. The canyon boss races are really fun. The soundtrack of the game is excellent throughout. Graphics are nice but lack diversity and the night time all the time got tiring for my eyes. Gameplay and controls are pretty good. AI is okay and you get some ally AI that work okay. Game has a few bugs here and there (especially with the ally AI). Lots and lots of car customizations. Nice to be able to drive all variety of real-world cars and customize them but sucks that they don't take any damage (except paint scraping) in collisions which breaks the realism.
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[ "This is a nice racing game with 5 different unique control schemes which all using the Wii remote abilities in special ways.", "The main and really only problem with the game is that it is night time all the time and all the races are within the same similar looking city levels so the variety of tracks is not so great and the night time stuff looks good at first but once you get faster cars it starts to just strain the eyes.", "The canyon boss races are really fun.", "The soundtrack of the game is excellent throughout.", "Graphics are nice but lack diversity and the night time all the time got tiring for my eyes.", "Gameplay and controls are pretty good.", "AI is okay and you get some ally AI that work okay.", "Game has a few bugs here and there (especially with the ally AI).", "Lots and lots of car customizations.", "Nice to be able to drive all variety of real-world cars and customize them but sucks that they don't take any damage (except paint scraping) in collisions which breaks the realism." ]
The gameplay elements in Tiger Woods 07 are solid, and even go back to some of the roots that made 04 such a great game. No more Gamebreakers from last year for that auto hole-in-one, no Tiger Vision to automatically knock down 80 foot putts with 20 feet of break. So the challenge is there. But it's the game modes that have gotten old. The new Team Tiger mode is too short and less rewarding as so much of your success is dependant on the building of your teammates. PGA Tour is solid as always, although still too easy (winning tournaments with -60 scores and such). Graphically, the game is top notch as always. And the course selection is beautiful. But at the same time, it has not improved noticably since 04. Nice to see Highlands back in the game, though. Get this game if you are a die hard Tiger fan, but if you are new to the series, probably better to stick with 04 or even 05.
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[ "The gameplay elements in Tiger Woods 07 are solid, and even go back to some of the roots that made 04 such a great game.", "No more Gamebreakers from last year for that auto hole-in-one, no Tiger Vision to automatically knock down 80 foot putts with 20 feet of break.", "So the challenge is there.", "But it's the game modes that have gotten old.", "The new Team Tiger mode is too short and less rewarding as so much of your success is dependant on the building of your teammates.", "PGA Tour is solid as always, although still too easy (winning tournaments with -60 scores and such).", "Graphically, the game is top notch as always.", "And the course selection is beautiful.", "But at the same time, it has not improved noticably since 04.", "Nice to see Highlands back in the game, though.", "Get this game if you are a die hard Tiger fan, but if you are new to the series, probably better to stick with 04 or even 05." ]
This book was hard to get through. At times it felt like school reading where i was reading just to get through it as opposed to enjoying it like i did the previous three books. The problem Martin has here is he completely overestimates how interesting and meaningful his minor characters in fact are. By minor in this case i mean Cersei, Brienne, Samwell and so forth. Yes they have major parts to play but they are not the main characters of the overall story. The annoying part about this book is that nearly half of it is divided between Cersei and Brienne and they both seem to have the exact same personal conflict driving their narrative. Both struggle with the fact they are strong women trying to fit in a mans role and are forced to suffer a lack of respect their peers would never receive. Simply put Brienne and Cersei's story lines are boring. Cercei spends the entire book scheming and plotting on the small council and it feels like a really poor political storyline. Nothing happens that couldn't have been told to other characters by ravens. Brienne's stroyline is even worse. Her entire arc is made redundant by the fact she is searching for a character who we know the location and situation of so there is no mystery to it. She plods around and like cersei we could have just learned of her actions in other more plot-forwarding stories. This book is not a complete loss however. Jaime's story may not be brimming with great plot but his character development helps save his portion of the story while the heart of Samwell's story is engaging. Arya's brief appearance whets the appetite but it only points out the glaring problem of having the major characters absent. Sansa's story doesn't do much either and isn't particularly worth mentioning. The Ironmen save this book from a two or one star review, though their storyline isn't perfect. For me i would have preferred if Martin had of made a decision and told their story from a single point of view, but he decided to give Asha, Victarion and Aeron their own chapters. For me Victarion was the best addition to the series in this book as his mixture of loyalty/tradition/honor is so twisted its hard to see where the noble fighter gives way to the vicious killer. i would have preferred to see the iron islands through his eyes as opposed to a fractured experience. I wish Martin had of stuck to his original plan which was to return with his fourth book having followed a five year gap in the story. This would have made a great sense as the third felt like a great end to the first part of the story. In the end he decided to fill in the five year gap and its noticeable that he has no story here for the most part. Feast of Crows is a book about moving pieces around the board, getting them ready for the final act of the story, but most moves are unnecessarily detailed. The book could delete the entire Brienne and Cersei storyline, have updates for them in other characters POV chapters and the book would not suffer. In fact it would not be as hard to read.
1
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[ "This book was hard to get through.", "At times it felt like school reading where i was reading just to get through it as opposed to enjoying it like i did the previous three books.", "The problem Martin has here is he completely overestimates how interesting and meaningful his minor characters in fact are.", "By minor in this case i mean Cersei, Brienne, Samwell and so forth.", "Yes they have major parts to play but they are not the main characters of the overall story.", "The annoying part about this book is that nearly half of it is divided between Cersei and Brienne and they both seem to have the exact same personal conflict driving their narrative.", "Both struggle with the fact they are strong women trying to fit in a mans role and are forced to suffer a lack of respect their peers would never receive.", "Simply put Brienne and Cersei's story lines are boring.", "Cercei spends the entire book scheming and plotting on the small council and it feels like a really poor political storyline.", "Nothing happens that couldn't have been told to other characters by ravens.", "Brienne's stroyline is even worse.", "Her entire arc is made redundant by the fact she is searching for a character who we know the location and situation of so there is no mystery to it.", "She plods around and like cersei we could have just learned of her actions in other more plot-forwarding stories.", "This book is not a complete loss however.", "Jaime's story may not be brimming with great plot but his character development helps save his portion of the story while the heart of Samwell's story is engaging.", "Arya's brief appearance whets the appetite but it only points out the glaring problem of having the major characters absent.", "Sansa's story doesn't do much either and isn't particularly worth mentioning.", "The Ironmen save this book from a two or one star review, though their storyline isn't perfect.", "For me i would have preferred if Martin had of made a decision and told their story from a single point of view, but he decided to give Asha, Victarion and Aeron their own chapters.", "For me Victarion was the best addition to the series in this book as his mixture of loyalty/tradition/honor is so twisted its hard to see where the noble fighter gives way to the vicious killer.", "i would have preferred to see the iron islands through his eyes as opposed to a fractured experience.", "I wish Martin had of stuck to his original plan which was to return with his fourth book having followed a five year gap in the story.", "This would have made a great sense as the third felt like a great end to the first part of the story.", "In the end he decided to fill in the five year gap and its noticeable that he has no story here for the most part.", "Feast of Crows is a book about moving pieces around the board, getting them ready for the final act of the story, but most moves are unnecessarily detailed.", "The book could delete the entire Brienne and Cersei storyline, have updates for them in other characters POV chapters and the book would not suffer.", "In fact it would not be as hard to read." ]
I downloaded Mile 81 a short story from Amazon.com to my Kindle Fire. I thought the Author Stephen King did a good job writing this short story. The story takes place in Maine and the Author did a good job of creating the scenes and characters. The short story has the feel of From a Buick 8 and Christine. I have read most of the e-books Stephen King has written. I think this story was way too short. The price of $3.99 was too much for this short story. The price should have been $1.00 to $1.99. There were large spaces in between a lot of the words and did distract me while I was reading this short story. I think they may have cheeped out on the formatting and did it automatically instead of by hand, which cost a little extra. This is the first e-book I have read by Stephen King with the formatting problem. I have and would recommend this e-book to a friend.
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[ "I downloaded Mile 81 a short story from Amazon.", "com to my Kindle Fire.", "I thought the Author Stephen King did a good job writing this short story.", "The story takes place in Maine and the Author did a good job of creating the scenes and characters.", "The short story has the feel of From a Buick 8 and Christine.", "I have read most of the e-books Stephen King has written.", "I think this story was way too short.", "The price of $3.", "99 was too much for this short story.", "The price should have been $1.", "00 to $1.", "99.", "There were large spaces in between a lot of the words and did distract me while I was reading this short story.", "I think they may have cheeped out on the formatting and did it automatically instead of by hand, which cost a little extra.", "This is the first e-book I have read by Stephen King with the formatting problem.", "I have and would recommend this e-book to a friend." ]
in Blazing Angels you play the part of a WWII pilot and guide him through his war experience, through training and in several missions in key battles during the war. While the game makes innovative use of the Wii's control system, the game falls short in graphics and lacks a real addictive element to draw in the average gamer. Audience: I thought, with the Wii's control system, that this game would be a blast for anyone, but I was at least partially mistaken. I'm not a flight sim fan, and it turns out the game couldn't really capture my attention for very long despite the cool control setup. This game would probably appeal to WWII fans and/or fans of flight games, but its appeal outside those demographics is limited. Graphics: Definitely a shortfall here. I don't expect stellar graphics from the Wii, but I had a difficult time even identifying ground targets at times. I guess the red boxes that outlined my targets were supposed to make up for that... Gameplay: The missions I played (and I didn't get all the way through the game) were pretty standard for this type of game--escort something, blow up a convoy, protect a bridge, etc. Control: This is the game's strong point for sure. There are several control options, which let you choose between using the motion sensor capability on the Wiimote or the nunchuck and give you a wide variety of other options for controlling your craft. Challenge: Some parts of the campaign are really challenging. There is also a single player dogfight mode that offers a wide range of difficulty. Storyline: The campaign storyline was enjoyable, and the scenes in between fights were well done. Overall this is a...well, an adequate game. Despite the game's excellent use of the Wii's controls there was nothing in the game that really made me want to continue playing it. If you're into WWII games or flight sim games I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot--if not it may be just worth a rental.
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[ "in Blazing Angels you play the part of a WWII pilot and guide him through his war experience, through training and in several missions in key battles during the war.", "While the game makes innovative use of the Wii's control system, the game falls short in graphics and lacks a real addictive element to draw in the average gamer.", "Audience: I thought, with the Wii's control system, that this game would be a blast for anyone, but I was at least partially mistaken.", "I'm not a flight sim fan, and it turns out the game couldn't really capture my attention for very long despite the cool control setup.", "This game would probably appeal to WWII fans and/or fans of flight games, but its appeal outside those demographics is limited.", "Graphics: Definitely a shortfall here.", "I don't expect stellar graphics from the Wii, but I had a difficult time even identifying ground targets at times.", "I guess the red boxes that outlined my targets were supposed to make up for that...", "Gameplay: The missions I played (and I didn't get all the way through the game) were pretty standard for this type of game--escort something, blow up a convoy, protect a bridge, etc.", "Control: This is the game's strong point for sure.", "There are several control options, which let you choose between using the motion sensor capability on the Wiimote or the nunchuck and give you a wide variety of other options for controlling your craft.", "Challenge: Some parts of the campaign are really challenging.", "There is also a single player dogfight mode that offers a wide range of difficulty.", "Storyline: The campaign storyline was enjoyable, and the scenes in between fights were well done.", "Overall this is a...", "well, an adequate game.", "Despite the game's excellent use of the Wii's controls there was nothing in the game that really made me want to continue playing it.", "If you're into WWII games or flight sim games I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot--if not it may be just worth a rental." ]
I expect a lot more from an X-Box game. I understand that this is a game with multiple versions on all the major platform systems. The problem with this type of game is that it's only as good as the weakest system it's made for, in this case the PS2. I don't have any problems with the PS2, but having seen the graphic possibilities from my other Xbox games, I'm a bit spoiled. If this were my first Xbox game, or it were another PS2 game for me, I might be able to go up another star. The big highlight of the game is the excellent CGI cut-scenes featuring the voice-actors of the animated series. It was those scenes that really created the atmosphere of the animated series and made the game worth playing. Each scene was like a little reward that reminded me of the old-school games from my youth. The in-game graphics also retained that art-deco quality of the series, but not without flaws. Of course the coolest thing about the game is being able to control Batman and all of his cool gadgets, and it does an excellent job in that respect. I was a big Batman fan as a kid, and even as an adult I have to admit that Batman is still uber-cool to me. It's hard NOT to like Batman. In the game you get to fly the Batplane, beat the crud out of henchmen, whack the Joker with Batarangs, and swing from building to building on a grappling-line. The game tries to do so much, that inevitably there are some weaknesses in the interface, but I didn't find that too irritating. Unfortunately the novelty of being Batman wears off pretty fast. Some of the missions get tedious, especially the Batplane scenes. If I were a kid or a young teenager this game would be a lot more fun, but as an adult whose played WAY too many games, I found the game play a little too antiquated. It's not bad, but it's old-school console roots made me realize how far games have come. My biggest complaint however is the graphics. While I like the simple deco style taken from the series, I found the visuls a bit too grainy and rough. As I said before, the graphics are on-par with a PS2 game, but I think other Xbox gamers will agree it doesn't really meet the bar. If I were writing this review for the PS2 version it would be much different I'm sure. So in summation, if you are in the 14 and under crowd, or just a major Batman fan, you'll probably really enjoy this game. If you're and old fogey like me that expects performance from a game rather than novelty, you might want to skip it or rent it. Either way, it's not a bad game, just not up to my standards.
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[ "I expect a lot more from an X-Box game.", "I understand that this is a game with multiple versions on all the major platform systems.", "The problem with this type of game is that it's only as good as the weakest system it's made for, in this case the PS2.", "I don't have any problems with the PS2, but having seen the graphic possibilities from my other Xbox games, I'm a bit spoiled.", "If this were my first Xbox game, or it were another PS2 game for me, I might be able to go up another star.", "The big highlight of the game is the excellent CGI cut-scenes featuring the voice-actors of the animated series.", "It was those scenes that really created the atmosphere of the animated series and made the game worth playing.", "Each scene was like a little reward that reminded me of the old-school games from my youth.", "The in-game graphics also retained that art-deco quality of the series, but not without flaws.", "Of course the coolest thing about the game is being able to control Batman and all of his cool gadgets, and it does an excellent job in that respect.", "I was a big Batman fan as a kid, and even as an adult I have to admit that Batman is still uber-cool to me.", "It's hard NOT to like Batman.", "In the game you get to fly the Batplane, beat the crud out of henchmen, whack the Joker with Batarangs, and swing from building to building on a grappling-line.", "The game tries to do so much, that inevitably there are some weaknesses in the interface, but I didn't find that too irritating.", "Unfortunately the novelty of being Batman wears off pretty fast.", "Some of the missions get tedious, especially the Batplane scenes.", "If I were a kid or a young teenager this game would be a lot more fun, but as an adult whose played WAY too many games, I found the game play a little too antiquated.", "It's not bad, but it's old-school console roots made me realize how far games have come.", "My biggest complaint however is the graphics.", "While I like the simple deco style taken from the series, I found the visuls a bit too grainy and rough.", "As I said before, the graphics are on-par with a PS2 game, but I think other Xbox gamers will agree it doesn't really meet the bar.", "If I were writing this review for the PS2 version it would be much different I'm sure.", "So in summation, if you are in the 14 and under crowd, or just a major Batman fan, you'll probably really enjoy this game.", "If you're and old fogey like me that expects performance from a game rather than novelty, you might want to skip it or rent it.", "Either way, it's not a bad game, just not up to my standards." ]
These little containers look amazing in pictures. Colors are earthy and not vibrant as shown in the advertized picture. I was really excited about the one with the really dark and prominent eyes. As well as, the one with the dark chest feathers. Mine are very blah. In person they are really small. In fact, too small to hold any of my succulents. Four of them have a rough feel and look like they didn't get finished in the painting process. Not sure if that is how they are supposed to be. I'm going to keep them. Just won't be able to use them how I originally planned.
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[ "These little containers look amazing in pictures.", "Colors are earthy and not vibrant as shown in the advertized picture.", "I was really excited about the one with the really dark and prominent eyes.", "As well as, the one with the dark chest feathers.", "Mine are very blah.", "In person they are really small.", "In fact, too small to hold any of my succulents.", "Four of them have a rough feel and look like they didn't get finished in the painting process.", "Not sure if that is how they are supposed to be.", "I'm going to keep them.", "Just won't be able to use them how I originally planned." ]
This is terrible recorded sound. I simply cannot forgive the balance engineer, and the people responsible for mic placement for screwing this one up. The sound is very thin, and has almost a bleached harshness to it. To mess up a performance like this makes me want to vomit. They can tell you about their 4D Audio Recording System all they want, but the truth is this doesn't sound like music. Some will respond to this saying: "but it is a live performance". Yep, DG recorded a live performance of this piece back in 1987 with Kissin as the pianist and Karajan with the BPO in the same location. The sound there, while not perfect is MUCH better then it is here. Still, those who are not nutty audiophiles like myself will probably enjoy this one, because it is really an wonderful demonstration by Martha Argerich. While maybe not the best interpretation by a pianist of this piece there is no denying that this women has unbelievable amounts of talent and charisma. I'm not very keen on Abbado and the Berliners backdrop here, but I think this is mostly due to the wretched sound balancing. If this were almost any other performance I would give this 1 star, but since it is so good I will ignore the sound quality a little and give it 3. Audio minded people should be warned to stay away.
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[ "This is terrible recorded sound.", "I simply cannot forgive the balance engineer, and the people responsible for mic placement for screwing this one up.", "The sound is very thin, and has almost a bleached harshness to it.", "To mess up a performance like this makes me want to vomit.", "They can tell you about their 4D Audio Recording System all they want, but the truth is this doesn't sound like music.", "Some will respond to this saying: \"but it is a live performance\".", "Yep, DG recorded a live performance of this piece back in 1987 with Kissin as the pianist and Karajan with the BPO in the same location.", "The sound there, while not perfect is MUCH better then it is here.", "Still, those who are not nutty audiophiles like myself will probably enjoy this one, because it is really an wonderful demonstration by Martha Argerich.", "While maybe not the best interpretation by a pianist of this piece there is no denying that this women has unbelievable amounts of talent and charisma.", "I'm not very keen on Abbado and the Berliners backdrop here, but I think this is mostly due to the wretched sound balancing.", "If this were almost any other performance I would give this 1 star, but since it is so good I will ignore the sound quality a little and give it 3.", "Audio minded people should be warned to stay away." ]
This is a big book that is stuffed to the gills with sometimes nearly unending sentences on popular enthusiasms, memories and memorabilia, good and bad luck, sexual desire, images of the American midwest, nostalgia for idealized middle-class family life, lust, academia, over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, petty rivalries, American place names, international politics, cogent observations regarding parenting, love, married life, aging, the exigencies of American business life, some information about Parkinson's disease, and the great twin staples of families: unhappiness and anxiety. There is dialogue that is familiar, tiresome, sometimes funny, hip or dated; and interior monologue that is occasionally moving and important. Franzen can write lucidly about anything and everything, and does so in this very long story. Unfortunately, nothing has been left out. By now the plot is familiar to readers. There's not a lot to it. The pre-publication hype has been intense. A family (two parents, three adult children and several in-laws) is to gather from around the United States for one last Christmas together. This plot requires of the reader an agreement to assign "Christmas" a considerable emotional weight. (Some people really do watch "It's a Wonderful Life" every year.) This will succeed with some, but not all, readers. Parts of the text are nearly soporific. Here's an excerpt, about the matriarch, Enid: "She told not only her friends but everybody else she knew in St. Jude, including her butcher, her broker, and her mailman, that her grandson Jonah was coming for the holidays. Naturally she was disappointed that Gary and Jonah were staying for just three days and were leaving at noon on Christmas, but plenty of fun could be packed into three days." Is it an important book, and will it change your way of seeing the world? Probably not. It's 570 pages long. It weighs two pounds. Some of the descriptions of the most commonplace things and inner states seem to stretch on for pages. Parkinson's disease afflicts the family's patriarch, and getting old is no fun, either. Franzen describes how the disease looks to others but not, really, the experience of the disease. In more than a few places Franzen squanders the chance to go deep, in favor of yet more description of how things looked or sounded. For a novel that uses this much paper and ink to tell its story, the emotional lives of his characters are often frustratingly slight. The visual-details-laden, dialogue-heavy tale of a complicated and somewhat interesting (but also quite average) American middle-class family is a sure draw, but readers old enough to recall the best-selling page-turners of the 1950's and '60's of Leon Uris, James Michener, Jeffrey Archer and even Harold Robbins might not be wowed by this novel. Younger readers new to the genre may well be pleased.
1
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[ "This is a big book that is stuffed to the gills with sometimes nearly unending sentences on popular enthusiasms, memories and memorabilia, good and bad luck, sexual desire, images of the American midwest, nostalgia for idealized middle-class family life, lust, academia, over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, petty rivalries, American place names, international politics, cogent observations regarding parenting, love, married life, aging, the exigencies of American business life, some information about Parkinson's disease, and the great twin staples of families: unhappiness and anxiety.", "There is dialogue that is familiar, tiresome, sometimes funny, hip or dated; and interior monologue that is occasionally moving and important.", "Franzen can write lucidly about anything and everything, and does so in this very long story.", "Unfortunately, nothing has been left out.", "By now the plot is familiar to readers.", "There's not a lot to it.", "The pre-publication hype has been intense.", "A family (two parents, three adult children and several in-laws) is to gather from around the United States for one last Christmas together.", "This plot requires of the reader an agreement to assign \"Christmas\" a considerable emotional weight.", "(Some people really do watch \"It's a Wonderful Life\" every year.", ") This will succeed with some, but not all, readers.", "Parts of the text are nearly soporific.", "Here's an excerpt, about the matriarch, Enid: \"She told not only her friends but everybody else she knew in St.", "Jude, including her butcher, her broker, and her mailman, that her grandson Jonah was coming for the holidays.", "Naturally she was disappointed that Gary and Jonah were staying for just three days and were leaving at noon on Christmas, but plenty of fun could be packed into three days.", "\"\nIs it an important book, and will it change your way of seeing the world?", "Probably not.", "It's 570 pages long.", "It weighs two pounds.", "Some of the descriptions of the most commonplace things and inner states seem to stretch on for pages.", "Parkinson's disease afflicts the family's patriarch, and getting old is no fun, either.", "Franzen describes how the disease looks to others but not, really, the experience of the disease.", "In more than a few places Franzen squanders the chance to go deep, in favor of yet more description of how things looked or sounded.", "For a novel that uses this much paper and ink to tell its story, the emotional lives of his characters are often frustratingly slight.", "The visual-details-laden, dialogue-heavy tale of a complicated and somewhat interesting (but also quite average) American middle-class family is a sure draw, but readers old enough to recall the best-selling page-turners of the 1950's and '60's of Leon Uris, James Michener, Jeffrey Archer and even Harold Robbins might not be wowed by this novel.", "Younger readers new to the genre may well be pleased." ]
Bought this and another case on the same day I ordered my new RAZR in white. The other case made it the same day of my phone (2 business days). This case arrived over a week later. As far as the case itself goes, I have mixed feelings. I like the double layer of protection, but it adds extra bulk that takes away from the feel of the phone. The silicone for the door that houses the sim and sd card feels as though it'll pull off and pop like a rubber band if you happen to grab your phone by that area, and the hard plastic doesn't seem to meet up with the silicone near the top like it should (there is a gap from the indention of the silicone where the plastic fits over it to where the plastic actually comes of about 2 mm). On the plus side, it does allow the white of the phone to show at the top, and even a little around the sides where the silicone doesn't seem to fit snuggly. It also came with a screen protector that I put on for all of 20 seconds. The film reaches from edge to edge on all sides of the screen, which was great, but the very edges of said screen are beveled down, which the protector didn't allow compensation. Ended up with a great screen protector that went on flawlessly, but kept getting air bubbles around the edges because it wouldn't form a seal.
1
neutral
[ "Bought this and another case on the same day I ordered my new RAZR in white.", "The other case made it the same day of my phone (2 business days).", "This case arrived over a week later.", "As far as the case itself goes, I have mixed feelings.", "I like the double layer of protection, but it adds extra bulk that takes away from the feel of the phone.", "The silicone for the door that houses the sim and sd card feels as though it'll pull off and pop like a rubber band if you happen to grab your phone by that area, and the hard plastic doesn't seem to meet up with the silicone near the top like it should (there is a gap from the indention of the silicone where the plastic fits over it to where the plastic actually comes of about 2 mm).", "On the plus side, it does allow the white of the phone to show at the top, and even a little around the sides where the silicone doesn't seem to fit snuggly.", "It also came with a screen protector that I put on for all of 20 seconds.", "The film reaches from edge to edge on all sides of the screen, which was great, but the very edges of said screen are beveled down, which the protector didn't allow compensation.", "Ended up with a great screen protector that went on flawlessly, but kept getting air bubbles around the edges because it wouldn't form a seal." ]
She’d is very cheaply made. Floor started separating after shed was built. Ground shed was built on was a level concrete foundation. I ended up buying metal strips at a hardware store and secured the flooring and then placed connectable floor purchased at Costco to give the finished product a nice look. Instructions were pretty easy to follow. Recommended not to built in the sun. Plastic becomes extremely soft and screws will strip easily. Not sure how it will handle the rain being I live in California and it hasn’t started raining yet. I do like the shed, hence is why I gave it a 3 star. A lot of storage space for what ur paying for. I just wish lifetime would make a higher quality product.
1
neutral
[ "She’d is very cheaply made.", "Floor started separating after shed was built.", "Ground shed was built on was a level concrete foundation.", "I ended up buying metal strips at a hardware store and secured the flooring and then placed connectable floor purchased at Costco to give the finished product a nice look.", "Instructions were pretty easy to follow.", "Recommended not to built in the sun.", "Plastic becomes extremely soft and screws will strip easily.", "Not sure how it will handle the rain being I live in California and it hasn’t started raining yet.", "I do like the shed, hence is why I gave it a 3 star.", "A lot of storage space for what ur paying for.", "I just wish lifetime would make a higher quality product." ]
The last of Santana's jazz fusion albums, Borboletta is really a mediocre album. Too many of the songs are boring, and Leon Patillo isn't really the best singer. The instrumental montage at the end, Here and Now, Flor de Canela, and Promise of a Fisherman are really the only great songs on the album, with the exception of one or two others. It was about time for Santana to return to it's latin roots. Only Canto de las Flores shows a hint of latin sound. It's also good to hear David Brown on bass agaim. He would even stick around for the following album, Amigos. Chepito Areas's timbales only appear on one song, and Michael Shrieve would leave the band for good after the album was released. He was responsible for at least 60% of Santana's sound. Without him, Santana would never again sound the same as the glory days. If you like jazz fusion, you might want to get this album. But if you want to listen to the afro-cuban/rock Santana, grab the following album, Amigos.
1
neutral
[ "The last of Santana's jazz fusion albums, Borboletta is really a mediocre album.", "Too many of the songs are boring, and Leon Patillo isn't really the best singer.", "The instrumental montage at the end, Here and Now, Flor de Canela, and Promise of a Fisherman are really the only great songs on the album, with the exception of one or two others.", "It was about time for Santana to return to it's latin roots.", "Only Canto de las Flores shows a hint of latin sound.", "It's also good to hear David Brown on bass agaim.", "He would even stick around for the following album, Amigos.", "Chepito Areas's timbales only appear on one song, and Michael Shrieve would leave the band for good after the album was released.", "He was responsible for at least 60% of Santana's sound.", "Without him, Santana would never again sound the same as the glory days.", "If you like jazz fusion, you might want to get this album.", "But if you want to listen to the afro-cuban/rock Santana, grab the following album, Amigos." ]
I purchased this projector in March of 2019. The picture quality is great but I could not get YouTube to work, or any other already installed programs to work (like Hulu etc). I had to purchase the Roku fire stick to watch tv on it. No biggie. 6 months later I got a huge black blob on the screen we couldn’t fix and the fan was making a loud noise. Turns out that the LCD was defective. I sent a message to the company and told them about my issue and they sent me replacement parts for the projector along with instructions on how to replace them, FREE of charge. Although I’m not super thrilled about the issue we had with the projector, the customer service I received was top notch. I was corresponding with a customer service agent who treated me with the upmost respect and was very understanding. I’m not sure if I would buy this specific projector again, knowing what I know now but I’m confident that if I have any more issues, I’m going to get the help I need. Hope this helps!
1
neutral
[ "I purchased this projector in March of 2019.", "The picture quality is great but I could not get YouTube to work, or any other already installed programs to work (like Hulu etc).", "I had to purchase the Roku fire stick to watch tv on it.", "No biggie.", "6 months later I got a huge black blob on the screen we couldn’t fix and the fan was making a loud noise.", "Turns out that the LCD was defective.", "I sent a message to the company and told them about my issue and they sent me replacement parts for the projector along with instructions on how to replace them, FREE of charge.", "Although I’m not super thrilled about the issue we had with the projector, the customer service I received was top notch.", "I was corresponding with a customer service agent who treated me with the upmost respect and was very understanding.", "I’m not sure if I would buy this specific projector again, knowing what I know now but I’m confident that if I have any more issues, I’m going to get the help I need.", "Hope this helps!" ]
I purchased this window fan after shopping for an "electronically reversible" model so I can blow cool air in and suck warm air out depending on the time of day etc. This one offers that feature, whereas most others you need to physically turn the fan around. The fan was simple to install. I have a awning window so I made a piece to seal it off on the top. This fan retails for about $50 which in my opinion is somewhat expensive for any fan, but it was worth the price for me to such hot air out of my west facing apartment. Each of the two fans has a high/med/low setting, but I only use it on High. It does not produce as much air as my regular bedroom fan and overall I'm disappointed with its airflow. I was hoping for significantly more air movement [or CFM's] out of it. It makes a small difference in our room but I'm undecided if I would spend the money on it if I had to do it all over again. I've attached a photo from outside and inside. Thanks!
1
neutral
[ "I purchased this window fan after shopping for an \"electronically reversible\" model so I can blow cool air in and suck warm air out depending on the time of day etc.", "This one offers that feature, whereas most others you need to physically turn the fan around.", "The fan was simple to install.", "I have a awning window so I made a piece to seal it off on the top.", "This fan retails for about $50 which in my opinion is somewhat expensive for any fan, but it was worth the price for me to such hot air out of my west facing apartment.", "Each of the two fans has a high/med/low setting, but I only use it on High.", "It does not produce as much air as my regular bedroom fan and overall I'm disappointed with its airflow.", "I was hoping for significantly more air movement [or CFM's] out of it.", "It makes a small difference in our room but I'm undecided if I would spend the money on it if I had to do it all over again.", "I've attached a photo from outside and inside.", "Thanks!" ]
I walk away from Prey with mixed feelings. Admittedly, I was entertained by the book, but when I look back I feel somewhat tricked. Prey reminded me of something that I did often in college - I'd get so hungry that I would seek out and consume an entire meal of exceptionally low-quality food; only upon finishing would I realize that it sort of sucked. It certainly seemed good at the time. In the case of Prey, mostly the entire thing was devoured at such a pace that I hardly noticed the book's occasional ridiculousness, particularly near the end (kisses of death?), nor did I really mind the thin characters (and thinner enemy). If that was all there was to say about Prey, I would have been pretty disappointed. Fortunately, the book's look at various interdisciplinary sciences and technologies definitely held my attention. Yes, it is a mostly negative portrayal of artificial life and nanotechnology (though Crichton never mentions it by name, the doomsday grey goo scenario definitely inspires this work) and yes, the events that take place here are over-the-top, but let's not fool ourselves - this is science fiction. You could make an argument that one function of good science fiction is to get us to reflect on the impact that technology has/could have on our lives, despite how exaggerated and unrealistic the claims may be (hence fiction). In Prey, everything is oversimplified (it has to be) and at times way too much liberty is taken with emergence (think: "What? The swarm can now ______?! It must be emergent behavior!"). Ironically, I found that what really drove the book was, in fact, the emergence and evolutionary computing aspects - these were way more intriguing than the nanotechnology or Prey's thesis of unintended consequences. Crichton weaves all of this into a suitable storyline... I wouldn't say a "good" storyline, but it works, and it holds your interest for sure. You weren't going to read this book for the colorful characters anyway, much like how I, in college, wasn't eating that greasy pizza for its rich, exotic flavors. I was eating it because it was quick and tasty, and as I mentioned, Prey is a fast read and serves up some tasty ideas (many science-based, and many fiction-based). Ultimately, this is what makes it safe for consumption.
1
neutral
[ "I walk away from Prey with mixed feelings.", "Admittedly, I was entertained by the book, but when I look back I feel somewhat tricked.", "Prey reminded me of something that I did often in college - I'd get so hungry that I would seek out and consume an entire meal of exceptionally low-quality food; only upon finishing would I realize that it sort of sucked.", "It certainly seemed good at the time.", "In the case of Prey, mostly the entire thing was devoured at such a pace that I hardly noticed the book's occasional ridiculousness, particularly near the end (kisses of death?", "), nor did I really mind the thin characters (and thinner enemy).", "If that was all there was to say about Prey, I would have been pretty disappointed.", "Fortunately, the book's look at various interdisciplinary sciences and technologies definitely held my attention.", "Yes, it is a mostly negative portrayal of artificial life and nanotechnology (though Crichton never mentions it by name, the doomsday grey goo scenario definitely inspires this work) and yes, the events that take place here are over-the-top, but let's not fool ourselves - this is science fiction.", "You could make an argument that one function of good science fiction is to get us to reflect on the impact that technology has/could have on our lives, despite how exaggerated and unrealistic the claims may be (hence fiction).", "In Prey, everything is oversimplified (it has to be) and at times way too much liberty is taken with emergence (think: \"What?", "The swarm can now ______?!", "It must be emergent behavior!", "\").", "Ironically, I found that what really drove the book was, in fact, the emergence and evolutionary computing aspects - these were way more intriguing than the nanotechnology or Prey's thesis of unintended consequences.", "Crichton weaves all of this into a suitable storyline...", "I wouldn't say a \"good\" storyline, but it works, and it holds your interest for sure.", "You weren't going to read this book for the colorful characters anyway, much like how I, in college, wasn't eating that greasy pizza for its rich, exotic flavors.", "I was eating it because it was quick and tasty, and as I mentioned, Prey is a fast read and serves up some tasty ideas (many science-based, and many fiction-based).", "Ultimately, this is what makes it safe for consumption." ]
I have both the NuFACE Trinity and now the mini. The mini is a good size for travel and for smaller hands. I researched microcurrent technology and I found no journal articles stating that microcurrent works for either wrinkles or scars. There's been no conclusive evidence so far. "I tested this for 2.5 weeks when I was alone without my family. This was perfect because then I could see what they thought when I returned. I used it 6 days a week and did the full treatment When I returned, no one noticed anything different." This was from my original review of the NuFACE Trinity. I have since used it on and off for about a year (I know, you are supposed to use it consistently, I did start using it consistently for the past month. NuFace has an app (available on iPhone and coming soon to Android) which will remind you to do your session at a time you choose and days you choose. I now use the mini 3 days a week and the Trinity (because I can use the attachments) 2 days a week, when I have more time to dedicate to its use. The app actually helps me to use the NuFACE consistently. Since I've been using it consistently for a month - and using the mini during those sessions. You cannot change the attachments on the mini, but most of the time I use the mini anyway. The one difference I have noticed with the mini is that it gets warm (the Trinity doesn't do that). It doesn't burn me and I make sure to use lots of gel, but it was unnerving the first time because the Trinity doesn't do that. So, even though I still don't think this really does much, I keep using it (holding out hope that all my little lines will disappear and my skin will firm up magically). It does help me to remember to wash my face daily, so that's a plus. Overall, I personally wouldn't spend the money on this. However, if you go to the spa regularly to get these kinds of treatments that just make a hint of a difference, then it will pay for itself over time.
1
neutral
[ "I have both the NuFACE Trinity and now the mini.", "The mini is a good size for travel and for smaller hands.", "I researched microcurrent technology and I found no journal articles stating that microcurrent works for either wrinkles or scars.", "There's been no conclusive evidence so far.", "\"I tested this for 2.", "5 weeks when I was alone without my family.", "This was perfect because then I could see what they thought when I returned.", "I used it 6 days a week and did the full treatment When I returned, no one noticed anything different.", "\" This was from my original review of the NuFACE Trinity.", "I have since used it on and off for about a year (I know, you are supposed to use it consistently, I did start using it consistently for the past month.", "NuFace has an app (available on iPhone and coming soon to Android) which will remind you to do your session at a time you choose and days you choose.", "I now use the mini 3 days a week and the Trinity (because I can use the attachments) 2 days a week, when I have more time to dedicate to its use.", "The app actually helps me to use the NuFACE consistently.", "Since I've been using it consistently for a month - and using the mini during those sessions.", "You cannot change the attachments on the mini, but most of the time I use the mini anyway.", "The one difference I have noticed with the mini is that it gets warm (the Trinity doesn't do that).", "It doesn't burn me and I make sure to use lots of gel, but it was unnerving the first time because the Trinity doesn't do that.", "So, even though I still don't think this really does much, I keep using it (holding out hope that all my little lines will disappear and my skin will firm up magically).", "It does help me to remember to wash my face daily, so that's a plus.", "Overall, I personally wouldn't spend the money on this.", "However, if you go to the spa regularly to get these kinds of treatments that just make a hint of a difference, then it will pay for itself over time." ]
Norton Small Business seems like a bundle pack of Norton Internet Security with devices enrolled and managed from a web based interface. It's a good idea, but it seems like a repackaging of the retail product rather than the truly business oriented Endpoint Security. When I received the package it was a box much like pictured. It contained a plastic coated cardboard business card sized instruction card with the product key and a url: norton.com/subscribe. There was also a small one piece of glossy paper get started document that seemed more marketing than actual help. There was no CD - this is a download only product in a box of almost only empty space. That may not be a bad thing as with a high speed connection I downloaded and installed it on a windows 7 PC in about 10 minutes. When installed Norton Small Business it's pretty much Norton internet security. There is some central license control. Not all that much to describe beyond that. It has the usual browser plugins and malware protection as well as Outlook virus scanning and spam filtering. With additional devices one can login to the Norton account and download the product directly on the device or send an email invitation and have it installed from a link in the email. That's on PC's. I have a iPhone so I thought way-cool - now I have some malware protection available. But wait - there's less. When I emailed an invitation to my account and opened it on my iPhone and clicked the link it directed me to the iTunes app store and the Norton small business app. The app description showed screens with a locator and showing backups of contacts and other information. When I got it installed and activated (required my Norton account login) I ended up with a big friendly Norton icon on my iPhone. When I opened the Norton Small Business app on my iPhone all I got was a locator app. I was disappointed there was no real protection and it consumed one of the 10 seats for almost nothing in functionality! The locator can be activated from the Norton small business control panel. With this I was able to: 1) locate my iPhone (it put it about a mile away from where I was sitting!?!?!) 2) call my phone (like I couldn't do that without the app?) 3) i could "scream" my phone. I could cause the iPhone speakers to sound an alarm sound, not an actual scream. If it was an actual recorded scream, that might be kind of cool or fun. Maybe it would be good for locating it but it did not seem to work with the iPhone on silent. Lame again. So, the locator could not locate my phone within a mile, it provided ways of doing things that I could do by calling the phone (get someone to answer and make a noise to find it between the sofa cushions. And it takes a whole seat from the 10 available. Unless you just have too many, don't bother. So with PC's it's a more or less centrally deployed and managed Norton Internet Security. On iPhone it's a waste of time. I don't have a Mac to install this on so can't really comment on what it is for Mac's. One item of the hype is the no virus guarantee. As has been pointed out it's limited to Mac's and PC's and for Norton tech to try to remove the virus. If they decide they can, you can get a refund of the purchase price which may be prorated based on where you may be in your subscription. Not much of a guarantee, more marketing hype. Because of mobile and zero virus guarantee being more hype than real, and the PC version seems just a repackaging of the Internet Security retail product. It is basically a lackluster product that meets or falls short of expectations/hype I'm only giving it 3 stars.
1
neutral
[ "Norton Small Business seems like a bundle pack of Norton Internet Security with devices enrolled and managed from a web based interface.", "It's a good idea, but it seems like a repackaging of the retail product rather than the truly business oriented Endpoint Security.", "When I received the package it was a box much like pictured.", "It contained a plastic coated cardboard business card sized instruction card with the product key and a url: norton.", "com/subscribe.", "There was also a small one piece of glossy paper get started document that seemed more marketing than actual help.", "There was no CD - this is a download only product in a box of almost only empty space.", "That may not be a bad thing as with a high speed connection I downloaded and installed it on a windows 7 PC in about 10 minutes.", "When installed Norton Small Business it's pretty much Norton internet security.", "There is some central license control.", "Not all that much to describe beyond that.", "It has the usual browser plugins and malware protection as well as Outlook virus scanning and spam filtering.", "With additional devices one can login to the Norton account and download the product directly on the device or send an email invitation and have it installed from a link in the email.", "That's on PC's.", "I have a iPhone so I thought way-cool - now I have some malware protection available.", "But wait - there's less.", "When I emailed an invitation to my account and opened it on my iPhone and clicked the link it directed me to the iTunes app store and the Norton small business app.", "The app description showed screens with a locator and showing backups of contacts and other information.", "When I got it installed and activated (required my Norton account login) I ended up with a big friendly Norton icon on my iPhone.", "When I opened the Norton Small Business app on my iPhone all I got was a locator app.", "I was disappointed there was no real protection and it consumed one of the 10 seats for almost nothing in functionality!", "The locator can be activated from the Norton small business control panel.", "With this I was able to:\n\n1) locate my iPhone (it put it about a mile away from where I was sitting!?", "!?", "!", ")\n2) call my phone (like I couldn't do that without the app?", ")\n3) i could \"scream\" my phone.", "I could cause the iPhone speakers to sound an alarm sound, not an actual scream.", "If it was an actual recorded scream, that might be kind of cool or fun.", "Maybe it would be good for locating it but it did not seem to work with the iPhone on silent.", "Lame again.", "So, the locator could not locate my phone within a mile, it provided ways of doing things that I could do by calling the phone (get someone to answer and make a noise to find it between the sofa cushions.", "And it takes a whole seat from the 10 available.", "Unless you just have too many, don't bother.", "So with PC's it's a more or less centrally deployed and managed Norton Internet Security.", "On iPhone it's a waste of time.", "I don't have a Mac to install this on so can't really comment on what it is for Mac's.", "One item of the hype is the no virus guarantee.", "As has been pointed out it's limited to Mac's and PC's and for Norton tech to try to remove the virus.", "If they decide they can, you can get a refund of the purchase price which may be prorated based on where you may be in your subscription.", "Not much of a guarantee, more marketing hype.", "Because of mobile and zero virus guarantee being more hype than real, and the PC version seems just a repackaging of the Internet Security retail product.", "It is basically a lackluster product that meets or falls short of expectations/hype I'm only giving it 3 stars." ]
I bought these headphones because I was looking for exceptional audio quality and appreciate the Pioneer brand. I must admit that these headphones do sound impressive. The only problems I see are comfort and durability. The muffs sit on your rather than around it which leads to discomfort after prolonged use. As for the durability, many people have claimed that these break easily and I would agree. While mine haven't broken yet (I just received them recently), the construction is entirely plastic and feels cheap. They even used plastic on high-wear areas like the ball joints. Pros: -Great audio quality Cons: -Plastic construction -Uncomfortable (Muffs sit on the ear rather than around it) At this price point, I would have to recommend the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones</a>&nbsp;instead. They're more comfortable, have better construction and have great audio as well.
1
neutral
[ "I bought these headphones because I was looking for exceptional audio quality and appreciate the Pioneer brand.", "I must admit that these headphones do sound impressive.", "The only problems I see are comfort and durability.", "The muffs sit on your rather than around it which leads to discomfort after prolonged use.", "As for the durability, many people have claimed that these break easily and I would agree.", "While mine haven't broken yet (I just received them recently), the construction is entirely plastic and feels cheap.", "They even used plastic on high-wear areas like the ball joints.", "Pros:\n-Great audio quality\n\nCons:\n-Plastic construction\n-Uncomfortable (Muffs sit on the ear rather than around it)\n\nAt this price point, I would have to recommend the&nbsp;<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?", "ie=UTF8\">Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones</a>&nbsp;instead.", "They're more comfortable, have better construction and have great audio as well." ]
I order the iPad Pro case that offered a 360 degree rotating view. The case is a nice quality and the color is a pleasant blue. The construction is solid and overall it seems to be well made. I’m coming from the trifold style of cover and this cover has a different set up. It leaves a larger footprint on your work surface because of the way it is propped up on the flat inside front of the cover. This will just take some getting used to and isn’t necessarily bad. The other issue I have is with the way the hard shell internal case is only attached to the spinning mechanism on one side. It is necessary so that the iPad can rotate, but this makes the larger iPad Pro feel a little unsafe because without paying attention it flops open when folding the cover back to hold in the hands as opposed to propping. The iPad seems securely attached to the hard shell but it is awkward. I’m thinking that perhaps adding a magnet to the back of the hard shell case on the left edge of the vertically oriented iPad so it would delicately attach and be easy to pull off for propping and rotating would easily remedy this. In fact, I’ll probably go buy a sticky magnet and try that. But the manufacturer might want to consider adding this for better security of the larger model iPad.
1
neutral
[ "I order the iPad Pro case that offered a 360 degree rotating view.", "The case is a nice quality and the color is a pleasant blue.", "The construction is solid and overall it seems to be well made.", "I’m coming from the trifold style of cover and this cover has a different set up.", "It leaves a larger footprint on your work surface because of the way it is propped up on the flat inside front of the cover.", "This will just take some getting used to and isn’t necessarily bad.", "The other issue I have is with the way the hard shell internal case is only attached to the spinning mechanism on one side.", "It is necessary so that the iPad can rotate, but this makes the larger iPad Pro feel a little unsafe because without paying attention it flops open when folding the cover back to hold in the hands as opposed to propping.", "The iPad seems securely attached to the hard shell but it is awkward.", "I’m thinking that perhaps adding a magnet to the back of the hard shell case on the left edge of the vertically oriented iPad so it would delicately attach and be easy to pull off for propping and rotating would easily remedy this.", "In fact, I’ll probably go buy a sticky magnet and try that.", "But the manufacturer might want to consider adding this for better security of the larger model iPad." ]
I bought my first DVD sometime in 1998. At the time I had a DVD-ROM in my computer (one of the first on the market by Creative) but not in my home theater (I was still using laser discs). Total recall was among the first 10 DVDs or so that I bought. I saw this movie in the theater and I really liked it, not as much as the Terminator series or running man, but I was entertained nonetheless. I was excited to get it on DVD because I still like to watch it from time to time and I'm still entertained by the movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger is Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who is not happy in his mundane life and wants desperately to investigate his fascination (obsession really) with Mars. His wife Lori, played by Sharon Stone, acts as a deterrent to Douglas's fantasy; which causes him to go to a memory implant agency called Rekall to buy a false memory of a trip to Mars. All his problems seem to start as a direct result of going to Rekall for the memory implant. This is key because this is what keeps us guessing whether or not what's happening to him is real or part of his "Ego Trip" package that's supposed to give him the memory of a secret agent. Now, like I said, I've watched this movie many times and there are hints that support both sides, like: The tech that assists the doctor that is going to perform the implant says, "Blue skies on Mars, that's a new one". Also, his adventure does seem to follow that memory package to the "T". On the other side, there are plenty of clues that support the reality argument, such as the Director sweating when trying to convince him of his delusional fantasy, and Richter (played by Michael Ironside) trying to kill him through out the whole movie. These are the things that make this movie so much fun to watch and never let it get old. This is a good DVD that deserves an overhaul. After seeing and hearing what they did with the recent release of Superman, I would love to experience this movie with a re-mastered digital transference and soundtrack. The amount of action that this movie offers, I feel it's a prime candidate for a special release. I would also love to see a director's cut, I'm curios to see what they actually cut out of the film and if that footage could point the viewers to the correct side (fantasy or reality). As it stands now, the picture is good but could be smother and less grainy at times. The sound is where it needs it biggest improvement! The surround and LFE channel are minimally used (hard to believe in such an action packed movie) and the front 3 could be tightened up and not have the sounds "leak" into each channel as much. The vocals could be anchored more to the center channel and have the left and right fronts handle more of the action discreetly. This would be a 5 star movie if they re-released it with, if not all of them, some of these suggested improvements. The way it is, I gave it 3 stars. That being said, I do suggest you buy it, because you will continuously enjoy this movie of the years.
1
neutral
[ "I bought my first DVD sometime in 1998.", "At the time I had a DVD-ROM in my computer (one of the first on the market by Creative) but not in my home theater (I was still using laser discs).", "Total recall was among the first 10 DVDs or so that I bought.", "I saw this movie in the theater and I really liked it, not as much as the Terminator series or running man, but I was entertained nonetheless.", "I was excited to get it on DVD because I still like to watch it from time to time and I'm still entertained by the movie.", "Arnold Schwarzenegger is Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who is not happy in his mundane life and wants desperately to investigate his fascination (obsession really) with Mars.", "His wife Lori, played by Sharon Stone, acts as a deterrent to Douglas's fantasy; which causes him to go to a memory implant agency called Rekall to buy a false memory of a trip to Mars.", "All his problems seem to start as a direct result of going to Rekall for the memory implant.", "This is key because this is what keeps us guessing whether or not what's happening to him is real or part of his \"Ego Trip\" package that's supposed to give him the memory of a secret agent.", "Now, like I said, I've watched this movie many times and there are hints that support both sides, like: The tech that assists the doctor that is going to perform the implant says, \"Blue skies on Mars, that's a new one\".", "Also, his adventure does seem to follow that memory package to the \"T\".", "On the other side, there are plenty of clues that support the reality argument, such as the Director sweating when trying to convince him of his delusional fantasy, and Richter (played by Michael Ironside) trying to kill him through out the whole movie.", "These are the things that make this movie so much fun to watch and never let it get old.", "This is a good DVD that deserves an overhaul.", "After seeing and hearing what they did with the recent release of Superman, I would love to experience this movie with a re-mastered digital transference and soundtrack.", "The amount of action that this movie offers, I feel it's a prime candidate for a special release.", "I would also love to see a director's cut, I'm curios to see what they actually cut out of the film and if that footage could point the viewers to the correct side (fantasy or reality).", "As it stands now, the picture is good but could be smother and less grainy at times.", "The sound is where it needs it biggest improvement!", "The surround and LFE channel are minimally used (hard to believe in such an action packed movie) and the front 3 could be tightened up and not have the sounds \"leak\" into each channel as much.", "The vocals could be anchored more to the center channel and have the left and right fronts handle more of the action discreetly.", "This would be a 5 star movie if they re-released it with, if not all of them, some of these suggested improvements.", "The way it is, I gave it 3 stars.", "That being said, I do suggest you buy it, because you will continuously enjoy this movie of the years." ]
I'm always jonesing for my next Cat & Bones fix so when Reckoning was released as a stand-alone novella I just jumped at the chance to start from the very beginning of this series. This short story was only previously available in the Unbound anthology and it's installment 0.5 in the Night Huntress series. I didn't love this tale but then again, there's no such thing as a bad read when this series is concerned IMO. I'm just going to come out and say it. I found Bones severely lacking in this novella. His pre-Cat personality is dark and sad. There's no wit; he's just going through the motions to get the job done. After reading Reckoning I'm curious as to how Jeaniene Frost made the leap from this to the amazing book that is Halfway to the Grave. Even though I found this novella to be somewhat deficient; as a avid fan of this series, it's still a must-read for me. Reckoning is probably not the best introduction to the Night Huntress world but if you need something to tie you over until the next book comes out, what do you have to lose?
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[ "I'm always jonesing for my next Cat & Bones fix so when Reckoning was released as a stand-alone novella I just jumped at the chance to start from the very beginning of this series.", "This short story was only previously available in the Unbound anthology and it's installment 0.", "5 in the Night Huntress series.", "I didn't love this tale but then again, there's no such thing as a bad read when this series is concerned IMO.", "I'm just going to come out and say it.", "I found Bones severely lacking in this novella.", "His pre-Cat personality is dark and sad.", "There's no wit; he's just going through the motions to get the job done.", "After reading Reckoning I'm curious as to how Jeaniene Frost made the leap from this to the amazing book that is Halfway to the Grave.", "Even though I found this novella to be somewhat deficient; as a avid fan of this series, it's still a must-read for me.", "Reckoning is probably not the best introduction to the Night Huntress world but if you need something to tie you over until the next book comes out, what do you have to lose?" ]
This product is not worth the price they're selling it at. Two years ago, I found it on TigerDirect for only $30, and it wasn't even a sale. That said, this controller is not worth getting, even at that lower price, because the F510 is better in every way. The Cordless Rumblepad 2 has some battery life issues, because it cannot be turned off manually. There is no power switch, so you will have to remove the batteries every time you quit playing with it. It requires 2 AA batteries at 1.5v or higher, but it seems to last about 4 hours on high capacity 1.2v rechargeables. My problem with the 1.2v batteries is the controller randomly stops responding for a split second, so I recommend using the voltage it asks for. Overall, I think you're better off using a wired controller. The responsiveness of the controller is very good, but again, wired controllers can give faster response times. Also, the joysticks seem too snappy and cheap. Furthermore, the controller only has DirectInput support, so you can only play older games well with it. Newer games require XInput, instead, so there ya go, another reason to get the F510: it supports both. The aesthetic design of the device is very poor. The buttons are all numbered, and the button numbers are different from my other controllers, making this one the odd man out, per se. Anyway, the visual appeal is lacking in every way except one: the color scheme. It is black.
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[ "This product is not worth the price they're selling it at.", "Two years ago, I found it on TigerDirect for only $30, and it wasn't even a sale.", "That said, this controller is not worth getting, even at that lower price, because the F510 is better in every way.", "The Cordless Rumblepad 2 has some battery life issues, because it cannot be turned off manually.", "There is no power switch, so you will have to remove the batteries every time you quit playing with it.", "It requires 2 AA batteries at 1.", "5v or higher, but it seems to last about 4 hours on high capacity 1.", "2v rechargeables.", "My problem with the 1.", "2v batteries is the controller randomly stops responding for a split second, so I recommend using the voltage it asks for.", "Overall, I think you're better off using a wired controller.", "The responsiveness of the controller is very good, but again, wired controllers can give faster response times.", "Also, the joysticks seem too snappy and cheap.", "Furthermore, the controller only has DirectInput support, so you can only play older games well with it.", "Newer games require XInput, instead, so there ya go, another reason to get the F510: it supports both.", "The aesthetic design of the device is very poor.", "The buttons are all numbered, and the button numbers are different from my other controllers, making this one the odd man out, per se.", "Anyway, the visual appeal is lacking in every way except one: the color scheme.", "It is black." ]
Super Mario Advance 4 is one of the better games made for the GameBoy Advanced. There are several features listed already on the product description which adds a neat dimension to this game. Unfortunately, I do not own a GameBoy Advanced but instead own a GameBoy DS. So this will be a review based on my experience with the DS -=-=-=-=- When I started playing the game, I found I was unable to use the additional features. But I was happy to see that this had two games on it. Super Mario Brothers 3 and the original Mario Brothers. SMB3 was a perfect port of the original...almost. The game play, additions, bonus stages, hidden areas...everything was just like the original. I only have two complaints about the game. 1. Mario's voice didn't add anything to the game. It was just something they threw on which just got annoying very quickly. There was no way to shut him up. 2. They changed the music for the end sequence. :-( I loved the music for the original ending. This was just something generic. As for the original Mario Brothers...I had hours of fun playing it when I was a kid. This port was excellent. It was simple to play and easy to lose yourself in it. Don't be surprised when you find yourself running from crabs in order to live for another 2 seconds before getting fried by a fireball....sigh :-)
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[ "Super Mario Advance 4 is one of the better games made for the GameBoy Advanced.", "There are several features listed already on the product description which adds a neat dimension to this game.", "Unfortunately, I do not own a GameBoy Advanced but instead own a GameBoy DS.", "So this will be a review based on my experience with the DS\n\n-=-=-=-=-\n\nWhen I started playing the game, I found I was unable to use the additional features.", "But I was happy to see that this had two games on it.", "Super Mario Brothers 3 and the original Mario Brothers.", "SMB3 was a perfect port of the original...", "almost.", "The game play, additions, bonus stages, hidden areas...", "everything was just like the original.", "I only have two complaints about the game.", "1.", "Mario's voice didn't add anything to the game.", "It was just something they threw on which just got annoying very quickly.", "There was no way to shut him up.", "2.", "They changed the music for the end sequence.", ":-( I loved the music for the original ending.", "This was just something generic.", "As for the original Mario Brothers...", "I had hours of fun playing it when I was a kid.", "This port was excellent.", "It was simple to play and easy to lose yourself in it.", "Don't be surprised when you find yourself running from crabs in order to live for another 2 seconds before getting fried by a fireball....", "sigh :-)" ]
When the Playstation 2's launch date was announced, so was a sequel to Metal Gear Solid which was on the original Playstation. A year of waiting brought us Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I have always had the opinion that Metal Gear would be better served as a movie and for the most part Sons of Liberty is mostly movie. The grpahics are outstanding and the gameplay is nicely done but there should have been more play and less movie. For periods of up to twenty minutes you are beaten over the head with movies and dialouge. The vioce acting is good, but with such a good game engine, why would you want to show all those pesky cut-scenes. Grant it, you can skip them but you may find yourself not knowing what to do. The stealth element of Metal Gear 2 is outstanding. You can hide in everything from lockers to boxes. You will also find that the time when you are playing, that Metal Gear's camera is pretty helpful, in most cases. Sons of Liberty is easier then the original Playstaion game and does boast a better storyline. The question is, does it have to much storyline? Well I believe so. I enjoy playing this game but it is easy to get turned off by the semingly constant cut-scenes. Metal Gear Solid 2 is a solid game but it is not as great as all the hype you hear. Undoubtably, this is not a game of the year contender, when compared to the masterpiece that is Grand Theft Auto III, even though they are different types of games. This is dissopointing when you think about how long Playstation fans have been urning for an award-winning sequel. The bottom line is the gameplay is great once you learn it. Once you wade through the movie you find a good game that is at least worth renting for the weekend, or if not buying it.
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[ "When the Playstation 2's launch date was announced, so was a sequel to Metal Gear Solid which was on the original Playstation.", "A year of waiting brought us Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.", "I have always had the opinion that Metal Gear would be better served as a movie and for the most part Sons of Liberty is mostly movie.", "The grpahics are outstanding and the gameplay is nicely done but there should have been more play and less movie.", "For periods of up to twenty minutes you are beaten over the head with movies and dialouge.", "The vioce acting is good, but with such a good game engine, why would you want to show all those pesky cut-scenes.", "Grant it, you can skip them but you may find yourself not knowing what to do.", "The stealth element of Metal Gear 2 is outstanding.", "You can hide in everything from lockers to boxes.", "You will also find that the time when you are playing, that Metal Gear's camera is pretty helpful, in most cases.", "Sons of Liberty is easier then the original Playstaion game and does boast a better storyline.", "The question is, does it have to much storyline?", "Well I believe so.", "I enjoy playing this game but it is easy to get turned off by the semingly constant cut-scenes.", "Metal Gear Solid 2 is a solid game but it is not as great as all the hype you hear.", "Undoubtably, this is not a game of the year contender, when compared to the masterpiece that is Grand Theft Auto III, even though they are different types of games.", "This is dissopointing when you think about how long Playstation fans have been urning for an award-winning sequel.", "The bottom line is the gameplay is great once you learn it.", "Once you wade through the movie you find a good game that is at least worth renting for the weekend, or if not buying it." ]
Version: U.S.A / BVHE / Region A, B, C Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / AACS / High Profile 4.1 Running time: 1:59:37 Movie size: 36,35 GB Disc size: 40,94 GB Total bit rate: 40.52 Mbps Average video bit rate: 29.02 Mbps LPCM Audio English 6912 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 6912 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio French 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio Thai 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / Dolby Surround Subtitles: English SDH, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai Number of chapters: 19 #Audio commentary #Blooper reel #Live from the wrap party #LA The Pretty Woman Tour #1990 making of production featurette #Wild women do - Music Video by Natalie Cole #Theatrical trailer
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[ "Version: U.", "S.A / BVHE / Region A, B, C\nAspect ratio: 1.", "85:1\nMPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / AACS / High Profile 4.", "1\nRunning time: 1:59:37\nMovie size: 36,35 GB\nDisc size: 40,94 GB\nTotal bit rate: 40.", "52 Mbps\nAverage video bit rate: 29.", "02 Mbps\n\nLPCM Audio English 6912 kbps 5.", "1 / 48 kHz / 6912 kbps / 24-bit\nDolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.", "1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps\nDolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.", "0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround\nDolby Digital Audio French 256 kbps 2.", "0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / Dolby Surround\nDolby Digital Audio Portuguese 256 kbps 2.", "0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps\nDolby Digital Audio Spanish 256 kbps 2.", "0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / Dolby Surround\nDolby Digital Audio Thai 256 kbps 2.", "0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / Dolby Surround\n\nSubtitles: English SDH, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai\nNumber of chapters: 19\n\n#Audio commentary\n#Blooper reel\n#Live from the wrap party\n#LA The Pretty Woman Tour\n#1990 making of production featurette\n#Wild women do - Music Video by Natalie Cole\n#Theatrical trailer" ]
Got this brush to replace my old one. Actually having the soapy water in the handle allows me to make fewer trips to the bucket. The brush material is soft and cleans well. That's the good news. Bad news is the head does not swivel like my old one, so you have to be careful to hold it at the right angle to line up the pad with the car. I have a Sorento with a lot of fairly flat sheet metal. The brush is curved inwards and while it works fine on the corners, it does not do a good job on flat surfaces. The brush only hits on the 2 sides of the brush. The middle section is floating in the air. That means I need to go over the same spot several times to be sure all the area is clean. This is mostly a problem with the doors, roof and hood. Wait, that's most of the car. The last complaint is it does not have a hook or hole in the handle to hang it up to dry. I will need to figure out something since I don't want to just lay the wet brush down on something else. I have used it 3 times so far and am disappointed, but will probably just keep it to avoid the hassle of returning it and looking for something better. My old one was a CarRand and they don't make that model anymore.
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[ "Got this brush to replace my old one.", "Actually having the soapy water in the handle allows me to make fewer trips to the bucket.", "The brush material is soft and cleans well.", "That's the good news.", "Bad news is the head does not swivel like my old one, so you have to be careful to hold it at the right angle to line up the pad with the car.", "I have a Sorento with a lot of fairly flat sheet metal.", "The brush is curved inwards and while it works fine on the corners, it does not do a good job on flat surfaces.", "The brush only hits on the 2 sides of the brush.", "The middle section is floating in the air.", "That means I need to go over the same spot several times to be sure all the area is clean.", "This is mostly a problem with the doors, roof and hood.", "Wait, that's most of the car.", "The last complaint is it does not have a hook or hole in the handle to hang it up to dry.", "I will need to figure out something since I don't want to just lay the wet brush down on something else.", "I have used it 3 times so far and am disappointed, but will probably just keep it to avoid the hassle of returning it and looking for something better.", "My old one was a CarRand and they don't make that model anymore." ]
i am athirteen year old girl who today finished the book little women on my kindle. to be honest i normally stay far away from classics as i can because they bore me. after reading little women, i was positively and negativley surprised. i loved learning thestory of meg, jo, beth and amy. it was much more interesting than i originally anticipated which was lovely. the charaters were all well thought outand each one had its own unique personality. my favorite charaters were jo nad laurie when they were together. they had such nice chemestry and although they had good reasons for not marrying i wish they had ended up together. for the cons of the novel well they were just some parts that had begun to bore me to the point that i continually announced to my family that i was dropping the book. however i kept reading it and it would eventually pick up again. the last fifteen percent of the book was the hardest part for me to keep focused though the ending was marvelous as it turns out. over all i thought this book was pretty good just not worth 4 or 5 stars.
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[ "i am athirteen year old girl who today finished the book little women on my kindle.", "to be honest i normally stay far away from classics as i can because they bore me.", "after reading little women, i was positively and negativley surprised.", "i loved learning thestory of meg, jo, beth and amy.", "it was much more interesting than i originally anticipated which was lovely.", "the charaters were all well thought outand each one had its own unique personality.", "my favorite charaters were jo nad laurie when they were together.", "they had such nice chemestry and although they had good reasons for not marrying i wish they had ended up together.", "for the cons of the novel well they were just some parts that had begun to bore me to the point that i continually announced to my family that i was dropping the book.", "however i kept reading it and it would eventually pick up again.", "the last fifteen percent of the book was the hardest part for me to keep focused though the ending was marvelous as it turns out.", "over all i thought this book was pretty good just not worth 4 or 5 stars." ]
This album is the reason Yes currently languishes in obscurity. I like it, but I (and everybody else who reviewed it, I bet) am a huge Yes fan. I was thrilled that the new album had a live version of "Awaken". Most people were not. I was NOT thrilled that there were only two new songs. Those two songs are very pedestrian by Yes standards. It was pretty clear to me that "That, That Is" was several different songs thrown together into one, which is pandering to everyone who refused to listen to Yes after/because Steve Howe quit. Don't get me wrong, there are nice bits-- it's some of Chris Squire's best work in awhile. But it's tiresome. "Be the One" is OK, though. Kind of radio-friendly, even. Rick Wakeman was AWOL on the studio tracks, for the most part. The live stuff is a nice momento of a nice concert. It's not going to win any new fans, though.
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[ "This album is the reason Yes currently languishes in obscurity.", "I like it, but I (and everybody else who reviewed it, I bet) am a huge Yes fan.", "I was thrilled that the new album had a live version of \"Awaken\".", "Most people were not.", "I was NOT thrilled that there were only two new songs.", "Those two songs are very pedestrian by Yes standards.", "It was pretty clear to me that \"That, That Is\" was several different songs thrown together into one, which is pandering to everyone who refused to listen to Yes after/because Steve Howe quit.", "Don't get me wrong, there are nice bits-- it's some of Chris Squire's best work in awhile.", "But it's tiresome.", "\"Be the One\" is OK, though.", "Kind of radio-friendly, even.", "Rick Wakeman was AWOL on the studio tracks, for the most part.", "The live stuff is a nice momento of a nice concert.", "It's not going to win any new fans, though." ]
I'm also a Ham Radio operator, WA6NKZ. So I'm familier with Wilson products, well known in the Ham world. Therefore I was able to properly set up this product and get it working, and able to confirm it's range and signal strength, which was as advertised. I was getting 5 bars and full strength within 5 feet of the booster. and 3 bars at 25 feet and 3 rooms away. Without it I was getting 2 bars max and most often 1 bar at the distant rooms However, after about 6 months the signal would drop randomly. At the time I thought it was the cell site, perhaps for repairs or some other reason. It's taken me a while to figure out that it hasn't worked now for months. Due to the signal strength having increased from the cell site after improvments made there. I'm getting 2 to 3 bars anywhere in the house. So, being busy, and seeing that my calls were going through for the most part, I paid no attention to it. Yesterday I tested signal strength outside, 3 bars. More if I raised the phone higher. Disconnecting the 801247 booster made NO difference in signal strength, inside or out. I confirmed the power and all connections to the booster and antenna, all lights indicate proper operation. But is is not putting out ANY signal. So, I'm giving the rating as three Stars, but I'm not happy with the reliability of this product. BTW, after setting it up originally I had also bought and tried the high gain antenna, which for me in this area, turned out to be worse than the original 120 degree antenna.
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[ "I'm also a Ham Radio operator, WA6NKZ.", "So I'm familier with Wilson products, well known in the Ham world.", "Therefore I was able to properly set up this product and get it working, and able to confirm it's range and signal strength, which was as advertised.", "I was getting 5 bars and full strength within 5 feet of the booster.", "and 3 bars at 25 feet and 3 rooms away.", "Without it I was getting 2 bars max and most often 1 bar at the distant rooms\n\nHowever, after about 6 months the signal would drop randomly.", "At the time I thought it was the cell site, perhaps for repairs or some other reason.", "It's taken me a while to figure out that it hasn't worked now for months.", "Due to the signal strength having increased from the cell site after improvments made there.", "I'm getting 2 to 3 bars anywhere in the house.", "So, being busy, and seeing that my calls were going through for the most part, I paid no attention to it.", "Yesterday I tested signal strength outside, 3 bars.", "More if I raised the phone higher.", "Disconnecting the 801247 booster made NO difference in signal strength, inside or out.", "I confirmed the power and all connections to the booster and antenna, all lights indicate proper operation.", "But is is not putting out ANY signal.", "So, I'm giving the rating as three Stars, but I'm not happy with the reliability of this product.", "BTW, after setting it up originally I had also bought and tried the high gain antenna, which for me in this area, turned out to be worse than the original 120 degree antenna." ]
i wasn't sure what to expect after reading all the fabulous reviews and the bad ones based on pencil quality. the pencils seem structurally fine. i use an ordinary office electric sharpener, hold the pencil very still and let the sharpening device on the inside sort of grind away at the lead and wood. (that sharpener is actually doing a better job on ALL my pencils.) works great! haven't had any breakage. on the other hand i didn't like the way the pencil lead felt on the paper - and i tried several different kinds. the pencils are soft to the point of being smudgy. they do not lay down smooth at all. and don't even think about erasing. the colours are lovely, but no better than polys, pablos or luminance. i am glad i didn't buy the big set.
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[ "i wasn't sure what to expect after reading all the fabulous reviews and the bad ones based on pencil quality.", "the pencils seem structurally fine.", "i use an ordinary office electric sharpener, hold the pencil very still and let the sharpening device on the inside sort of grind away at the lead and wood.", "(that sharpener is actually doing a better job on ALL my pencils.", ")\n\nworks great!", "haven't had any breakage.", "on the other hand i didn't like the way the pencil lead felt on the paper - and i tried several different kinds.", "the pencils are soft to the point of being smudgy.", "they do not lay down smooth at all.", "and don't even think about erasing.", "the colours are lovely, but no better than polys, pablos or luminance.", "i am glad i didn't buy the big set." ]
Reading the early reviews of this game, I got angry at all the negativity surrounding it. I loved the first Smackdown games, and figured the next generation on PS2 HAD to be fabulous...but now that I've had the game and played it for awhile, I can see where they were coming from. First off, the game is graphically beautiful...the only exception perhaps being the 2-D crowd, which looks pretty silly when your character goes into the crowd to fight. Entrances are true to what you see on TV, and the music & videos on the TitanTron are fabulous. The create-a-wrestler mode is big, with tons of options, even some you need to unlock. There are dozens of game modes including Royal Rumble, which can now handle around 8 in the ring at the same time, and Hell in a Cell with tag-teams, fatal 4-ways and even a 6-pack type match...it rocks to climb to the top of the ring and fight or jump off, and pancaking Tazz through the top of the cage was awesome!!! The many other modes are great, and will provide variety in gameplay. The Story mode is the 'main' part of the game...you pick a character and guide them through to the title. Trouble is, the title is usually only 2-3 matches away...too short. A career/season mode would do better. You can walk around the arena at certain times, but this is generally pretty pointless as you usually are just looking for a tag team partner, and once you find one, nobody else is around the building, giving you nothing interesting to do. Controls are not that great, as trying to find a specific opponent can be rough. You can attack your partner or the ref, and you will frequently do this accidentally during a match because you can't quite tell who you just scrolled to. In matches where you have multiple opponents, this can cost you the match as you could get squashed by your true opponent while trying to find another. Personally, I often find myself launching a simple kick or punch when I think I'm close enough, then wind up missing altogether and getting nailed...perhaps it's a perception problem on my part, but this adds to the frustration factor. Commentating from Tazz & Michael Cole is ok...repetitive and pointless often, "(Fill-in-the-wrestler's name)...is different from other superstars" and other pieced-together phrases don't make much sense, but I learned to ignore the commentators after awhile (ps - Tazz does commentary for his own matches). Overall, this game entertained me, but won't have the shelf life it could/should have. The create & exhibition modes somewhat make up for a lackluster Story mode, but you can only have so many meaningless exhibition matches...good for multiplayer games, as a one-player will wind up collecting dust after a few weeks.
1
neutral
[ "Reading the early reviews of this game, I got angry at all the negativity surrounding it.", "I loved the first Smackdown games, and figured the next generation on PS2 HAD to be fabulous...", "but now that I've had the game and played it for awhile, I can see where they were coming from.", "First off, the game is graphically beautiful...", "the only exception perhaps being the 2-D crowd, which looks pretty silly when your character goes into the crowd to fight.", "Entrances are true to what you see on TV, and the music & videos on the TitanTron are fabulous.", "The create-a-wrestler mode is big, with tons of options, even some you need to unlock.", "There are dozens of game modes including Royal Rumble, which can now handle around 8 in the ring at the same time, and Hell in a Cell with tag-teams, fatal 4-ways and even a 6-pack type match...", "it rocks to climb to the top of the ring and fight or jump off, and pancaking Tazz through the top of the cage was awesome!!!", "The many other modes are great, and will provide variety in gameplay.", "The Story mode is the 'main' part of the game...", "you pick a character and guide them through to the title.", "Trouble is, the title is usually only 2-3 matches away...", "too short.", "A career/season mode would do better.", "You can walk around the arena at certain times, but this is generally pretty pointless as you usually are just looking for a tag team partner, and once you find one, nobody else is around the building, giving you nothing interesting to do.", "Controls are not that great, as trying to find a specific opponent can be rough.", "You can attack your partner or the ref, and you will frequently do this accidentally during a match because you can't quite tell who you just scrolled to.", "In matches where you have multiple opponents, this can cost you the match as you could get squashed by your true opponent while trying to find another.", "Personally, I often find myself launching a simple kick or punch when I think I'm close enough, then wind up missing altogether and getting nailed...", "perhaps it's a perception problem on my part, but this adds to the frustration factor.", "Commentating from Tazz & Michael Cole is ok...", "repetitive and pointless often, \"(Fill-in-the-wrestler's name)...", "is different from other superstars\" and other pieced-together phrases don't make much sense, but I learned to ignore the commentators after awhile (ps - Tazz does commentary for his own matches).", "Overall, this game entertained me, but won't have the shelf life it could/should have.", "The create & exhibition modes somewhat make up for a lackluster Story mode, but you can only have so many meaningless exhibition matches...", "good for multiplayer games, as a one-player will wind up collecting dust after a few weeks." ]
Pros: +Some good graphics +Fantastic Music +Simple to pick up and play +Allows for multiplayer Cons: -Unbalanced leveling system -Incredibly short -Not enough side areas -Generic characters devoid of any personality -Tedious ability system -In short, the game doesn't feel like it belongs in the RPG genre. The entire game itself is very generic, only putting in the most basic of basic RPG principles. Yet there are no towns, or NPCs to talk to. The game feels like it should've been an action/adventure game... not an RPG. Lord of the Rings The Third Age is what you would get if you mixed The Lord of the Ring with Final Fantasy (in particular, Final Fantasy X). The end result is a game that feels less like Lord of the Rings and more like a game trying to cash in on a popular genre. Lord of the Rings hardly feels like it should be an RPG to begin with. If the developers wanted to develop an RPG for Lord of the Rings, they probably shouldn't have done it within the trilogy and perhaps had it in the same world but as a side story. You are Berethor who is out to find Boromir. Your quest takes you through the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You are, throughout much of it, just one step behind them. In short, it's the Lord of the Rings trilogy, only not played out by the cast featured in the films. This isn't the only problem with the story. Most of it is narrated by Gandolf. In fact, so much of the story is told by Gandolf instead of your characters that you begin to wonder what your characters are even doing. The characters do very little to drive the story forward. They're also very generic. You don't care about the characters who join you because they're so generic and devoid of any personality. The gameplay doesn't do much to save it either. Much of the games battle system feels almost exactly like Final Fantasy X. You roam around until you are thrust into a random encounter. While in battle, there's a gauge on the side that shows you the turn order. Again, it works almost exactly as Final Fantasy X does. Your characters all have an obvious class and a set of unique abilities. Characters can learn more abilities the more they use them. The game also has a gauge beside your characters names. When it fills up you can initiate perfect mode and pull off an incredibly powerful attack. The end result is a system that eventually becomes tedious rather than unique. There isn't much customization outside of equipping characters with different items either. At the very least the game puts an emphasis on using different characters for different situations. But another thing that borrows from Final Fantasy X, is that you can swap characters out of battle on their turn and bring in someone to substitute. The game's level up system is a little unbalanced, though. You'll level up quite a bit, and very fast. What makes it unbalanced, however, is that your characters who partake in the battle gain more experience based on how many actions they take, and who they finish off. A character who does nothing in a battle loses out on a lot of experience while characters who partake can gain two or three times the amount a character who sits out gains. You'll have characters fall behind before you know it. As a bonus the game is also multiplayer so you and a friend can play. Unfortunately, the only thing your partner can do is act in battle. Outside of that he can't roam around the land with you or interact with anything. Interacting doesn't really mean much anyway. You won't be visiting any towns. All your items, equipment and such are granted to you through finding them in chests or hoping that an enemy drops them in battle. The entire game is one giant dungeon. It tries to throw in some quirks. For example as you roam you'll run through certain snippets of the dungeons where the eye of Sauron is in the corner. When it fully forms you get into a battle whether you're moving or not. It seems weird, but you won't be complaining about battles for too long. While the random encounter rate is through the roof, there are save points scattered almost everywhere. Save points aren't few and far between by any means and they always restore you to full health. In terms of production values, The Third Age isn't so bad. The voice acting (particularly from Gandolf) is brilliant, and even your characters don't sound bad when they speak. The graphics are also nice. Not the best to grace the Playstation 2 but good nonetheless. It's not a bad game to look at. You get a little tired of some of the animations for when enemies attack, or for certain abilities, but it's a small price to pay. The only other bothersome thing about the graphics is that there just isn't enough originality put into the game. No creatures they decided to make up. Everything you battle was in the films, but that leaves for little variety in the enemies you'll face. On the other hand, you do get clips directly from the films, which is nice. The music, however, is easily the best part of the game. It's all ripped directly from the films and it all sounds very good. Lord of the Rings: The Third Age isn't a great game, but for what you get it isn't bad. The biggest problem with the game is that it's an RPG when it clearly isn't suited to be one. You play as generic characters not even featured in the films on a quest that's better suited for a different genre. The experience doesn't last long either. In the long run, it'll take you less than 20 hours to complete the game, and there aren't very many things to do off the beaten path either. It's very straightforward. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age comes off as more of a game that wants to cash in on a popular genre. It doesn't feel like it should've been an RPG in the first place. It isn't a bad game. It just feels out of place by being in the RPG genre.
1
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[ "Pros:\n\n+Some good graphics\n+Fantastic Music\n+Simple to pick up and play\n+Allows for multiplayer\n\nCons:\n\n-Unbalanced leveling system\n-Incredibly short\n-Not enough side areas\n-Generic characters devoid of any personality\n-Tedious ability system\n-In short, the game doesn't feel like it belongs in the RPG genre.", "The entire game itself is very generic, only putting in the most basic of basic RPG principles.", "Yet there are no towns, or NPCs to talk to.", "The game feels like it should've been an action/adventure game...", "not an RPG.", "Lord of the Rings The Third Age is what you would get if you mixed The Lord of the Ring with Final Fantasy (in particular, Final Fantasy X).", "The end result is a game that feels less like Lord of the Rings and more like a game trying to cash in on a popular genre.", "Lord of the Rings hardly feels like it should be an RPG to begin with.", "If the developers wanted to develop an RPG for Lord of the Rings, they probably shouldn't have done it within the trilogy and perhaps had it in the same world but as a side story.", "You are Berethor who is out to find Boromir.", "Your quest takes you through the Lord of the Rings trilogy.", "You are, throughout much of it, just one step behind them.", "In short, it's the Lord of the Rings trilogy, only not played out by the cast featured in the films.", "This isn't the only problem with the story.", "Most of it is narrated by Gandolf.", "In fact, so much of the story is told by Gandolf instead of your characters that you begin to wonder what your characters are even doing.", "The characters do very little to drive the story forward.", "They're also very generic.", "You don't care about the characters who join you because they're so generic and devoid of any personality.", "The gameplay doesn't do much to save it either.", "Much of the games battle system feels almost exactly like Final Fantasy X.", "You roam around until you are thrust into a random encounter.", "While in battle, there's a gauge on the side that shows you the turn order.", "Again, it works almost exactly as Final Fantasy X does.", "Your characters all have an obvious class and a set of unique abilities.", "Characters can learn more abilities the more they use them.", "The game also has a gauge beside your characters names.", "When it fills up you can initiate perfect mode and pull off an incredibly powerful attack.", "The end result is a system that eventually becomes tedious rather than unique.", "There isn't much customization outside of equipping characters with different items either.", "At the very least the game puts an emphasis on using different characters for different situations.", "But another thing that borrows from Final Fantasy X, is that you can swap characters out of battle on their turn and bring in someone to substitute.", "The game's level up system is a little unbalanced, though.", "You'll level up quite a bit, and very fast.", "What makes it unbalanced, however, is that your characters who partake in the battle gain more experience based on how many actions they take, and who they finish off.", "A character who does nothing in a battle loses out on a lot of experience while characters who partake can gain two or three times the amount a character who sits out gains.", "You'll have characters fall behind before you know it.", "As a bonus the game is also multiplayer so you and a friend can play.", "Unfortunately, the only thing your partner can do is act in battle.", "Outside of that he can't roam around the land with you or interact with anything.", "Interacting doesn't really mean much anyway.", "You won't be visiting any towns.", "All your items, equipment and such are granted to you through finding them in chests or hoping that an enemy drops them in battle.", "The entire game is one giant dungeon.", "It tries to throw in some quirks.", "For example as you roam you'll run through certain snippets of the dungeons where the eye of Sauron is in the corner.", "When it fully forms you get into a battle whether you're moving or not.", "It seems weird, but you won't be complaining about battles for too long.", "While the random encounter rate is through the roof, there are save points scattered almost everywhere.", "Save points aren't few and far between by any means and they always restore you to full health.", "In terms of production values, The Third Age isn't so bad.", "The voice acting (particularly from Gandolf) is brilliant, and even your characters don't sound bad when they speak.", "The graphics are also nice.", "Not the best to grace the Playstation 2 but good nonetheless.", "It's not a bad game to look at.", "You get a little tired of some of the animations for when enemies attack, or for certain abilities, but it's a small price to pay.", "The only other bothersome thing about the graphics is that there just isn't enough originality put into the game.", "No creatures they decided to make up.", "Everything you battle was in the films, but that leaves for little variety in the enemies you'll face.", "On the other hand, you do get clips directly from the films, which is nice.", "The music, however, is easily the best part of the game.", "It's all ripped directly from the films and it all sounds very good.", "Lord of the Rings: The Third Age isn't a great game, but for what you get it isn't bad.", "The biggest problem with the game is that it's an RPG when it clearly isn't suited to be one.", "You play as generic characters not even featured in the films on a quest that's better suited for a different genre.", "The experience doesn't last long either.", "In the long run, it'll take you less than 20 hours to complete the game, and there aren't very many things to do off the beaten path either.", "It's very straightforward.", "The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age comes off as more of a game that wants to cash in on a popular genre.", "It doesn't feel like it should've been an RPG in the first place.", "It isn't a bad game.", "It just feels out of place by being in the RPG genre." ]
Despite it's good graphics (for the time period) and good story, breakdown is a chore to play, especially when you meet the unstoppable foe near the end. The fighting mechanics are awful, especially when you have to fight more than one foe. Derrick moves way too slow when fighting and one hit from an enemy will knock you down and drain so much of your health that you will often want to just stop playing the game. You have to get so close to actually hit an enemy that you will often times be hit before your character even throws a punch and believe me, that is a very bad thing. This game becomes absolutely unbearable when facing multiple opponents, and that's on normal difficulty. This game takes longer to play just because the amount of times you will die between check points and then have to repeat the whole check point area over. Developers need to realize that the more times you die, the less the fun factor of the game. The game is not unplayable and you can progress through trial and error, then some more trial and error, but it stops being fun very quickly. You will play it not for the fun factor, but just to see what happens at the end. The weapons and aiming system in the game suck big time. When using the machine gun you will use almost a whole clip just to take down one average soldier, if you take him down at all. Ammo is not plentiful enough for this kind of crap. Let's not talk about the fact that you also have to be very close and directly in the line of fire to kill anyone using standard weapons. You cannot kill most of the soldiers in this game without getting shot up yourself. As far as enemies your weapons won't kill, pray they come at you one at a time and don't interfere while you are fighting another enemy. If they do you can pretty much guarantee you will die. I wish I could say this game is fun, but it isn't. It is a very annoying and frustrating game. If you can sit through it and make it to the end, believe that you have accomplished something great! One person compared this game to Condemned. Don't believe it! I have played Condemned and the fighting mechanics in Condemned are much better than in this game. Actually, Condemned is a better game overall. Liking Condemned in no way means you will enjoy this game. They are not the same!
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[ "Despite it's good graphics (for the time period) and good story, breakdown is a chore to play, especially when you meet the unstoppable foe near the end.", "The fighting mechanics are awful, especially when you have to fight more than one foe.", "Derrick moves way too slow when fighting and one hit from an enemy will knock you down and drain so much of your health that you will often want to just stop playing the game.", "You have to get so close to actually hit an enemy that you will often times be hit before your character even throws a punch and believe me, that is a very bad thing.", "This game becomes absolutely unbearable when facing multiple opponents, and that's on normal difficulty.", "This game takes longer to play just because the amount of times you will die between check points and then have to repeat the whole check point area over.", "Developers need to realize that the more times you die, the less the fun factor of the game.", "The game is not unplayable and you can progress through trial and error, then some more trial and error, but it stops being fun very quickly.", "You will play it not for the fun factor, but just to see what happens at the end.", "The weapons and aiming system in the game suck big time.", "When using the machine gun you will use almost a whole clip just to take down one average soldier, if you take him down at all.", "Ammo is not plentiful enough for this kind of crap.", "Let's not talk about the fact that you also have to be very close and directly in the line of fire to kill anyone using standard weapons.", "You cannot kill most of the soldiers in this game without getting shot up yourself.", "As far as enemies your weapons won't kill, pray they come at you one at a time and don't interfere while you are fighting another enemy.", "If they do you can pretty much guarantee you will die.", "I wish I could say this game is fun, but it isn't.", "It is a very annoying and frustrating game.", "If you can sit through it and make it to the end, believe that you have accomplished something great!", "One person compared this game to Condemned.", "Don't believe it!", "I have played Condemned and the fighting mechanics in Condemned are much better than in this game.", "Actually, Condemned is a better game overall.", "Liking Condemned in no way means you will enjoy this game.", "They are not the same!" ]
In my opinion Family Tree Maker was better before it became tied to Ancestry.com. In those days it was easier to use. Nowadays it is difficult to add photos and adding sources is confusing. Its format is such that importing a GED from other genealogy software often leads to loss or of data or data being improperly located. For example, personal notes may be converted to "Events" for some reason. There is lower rated genealogy software that is easier to use and often can import data directly from another application. I have been doing genealogy research for at least 20 years during which time I have used many genealogy applications. Simpler, less cluttered applications are easier to use and can include as much or more data. This review is tied to an "old" version however the software has been basically the same for several versions.
1
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[ "In my opinion Family Tree Maker was better before it became tied to Ancestry.", "com.", "In those days it was easier to use.", "Nowadays it is difficult to add photos and adding sources is confusing.", "Its format is such that importing a GED from other genealogy software often leads to loss or of data or data being improperly located.", "For example, personal notes may be converted to \"Events\" for some reason.", "There is lower rated genealogy software that is easier to use and often can import data directly from another application.", "I have been doing genealogy research for at least 20 years during which time I have used many genealogy applications.", "Simpler, less cluttered applications are easier to use and can include as much or more data.", "This review is tied to an \"old\" version however the software has been basically the same for several versions." ]
I purchased this at Petsmart for way more than it was worth. I have an adult bearded dragon and he needed something a little closer to his basking spot. I placed this net maybe 2 inches under his top screen and he seemed to enjoy it. The next day, the suction cups clearly failed and he was on his basking rock (about a half an inch fall) and just looking at me. I tried to put it back up, but the suction cups refused to even try to stay. At that point I "secured" the tape with clear packaging tape and it held up ok, and he again enjoyed it. A few days later it had collapsed again. Now I just felt terrible. He wasn't getting harmed from the falling, but I can only imagine it would be startling. At this point I had purchased a woven reptile bridge from Amazon that supplied 6 suction cups and I only required 2 for the bridge, so I replaced all the suction cups from this hammock with quality ones and it has not failed once and it's been over a week. It's also worth noting that yes, I did put this close to the heat lamp, and yes, the suction cups did begin to melt. The new suction cups have been up as stated and are not melting at all. Overall, not a great product, but at least it does not retain heat, so it does not get too hot for them to lay on directly under basking.
1
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[ "I purchased this at Petsmart for way more than it was worth.", "I have an adult bearded dragon and he needed something a little closer to his basking spot.", "I placed this net maybe 2 inches under his top screen and he seemed to enjoy it.", "The next day, the suction cups clearly failed and he was on his basking rock (about a half an inch fall) and just looking at me.", "I tried to put it back up, but the suction cups refused to even try to stay.", "At that point I \"secured\" the tape with clear packaging tape and it held up ok, and he again enjoyed it.", "A few days later it had collapsed again.", "Now I just felt terrible.", "He wasn't getting harmed from the falling, but I can only imagine it would be startling.", "At this point I had purchased a woven reptile bridge from Amazon that supplied 6 suction cups and I only required 2 for the bridge, so I replaced all the suction cups from this hammock with quality ones and it has not failed once and it's been over a week.", "It's also worth noting that yes, I did put this close to the heat lamp, and yes, the suction cups did begin to melt.", "The new suction cups have been up as stated and are not melting at all.", "Overall, not a great product, but at least it does not retain heat, so it does not get too hot for them to lay on directly under basking." ]
I rate this phone about a 3.0 just because of what happened to it when owning. My uncle and I got the same phone around the same time. His failed when texting, he would text someone and it would never get to them and show the pending symbol in the status in messaging. So insurance replaced the phone for no fee because it was so new. So he got his new phone which consisted of the very much dreaded volume bug He ended up getting the 4650. My experience was as follows, I had the phone for about 6 months, and it got washed. I'll admit it was users fault, but I've washed countless phones even a chocolate and it survived, this phone died, I took it apart, and tried to see what was the matter, after still 4 weeks of sitting nothing happened and it was dead. Being as I had invested in the insurance, I got the new phone and had, had no problems with it until it was laying on my table. I was in the basement playing pool and the phone was dropped. like 2 feet, and what did it end up doing. It messed up something in the keypad, the numbers I pressed came out differently. I wish that it could have it's problems work out and if I find one (with the problems worked out) I would probably invest in it, but for now, I am just staying with my 6100 for backup (some people need a "rough and tumble" backup device, me being one.
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[ "I rate this phone about a 3.", "0 just because of what happened to it when owning.", "My uncle and I got the same phone around the same time.", "His failed when texting, he would text someone and it would never get to them and show the pending symbol in the status in messaging.", "So insurance replaced the phone for no fee because it was so new.", "So he got his new phone which consisted of the very much dreaded volume bug\n\nHe ended up getting the 4650.", "My experience was as follows, I had the phone for about 6 months, and it got washed.", "I'll admit it was users fault, but I've washed countless phones even a chocolate and it survived, this phone died, I took it apart, and tried to see what was the matter, after still 4 weeks of sitting nothing happened and it was dead.", "Being as I had invested in the insurance, I got the new phone and had, had no problems with it until it was laying on my table.", "I was in the basement playing pool and the phone was dropped.", "like 2 feet, and what did it end up doing.", "It messed up something in the keypad, the numbers I pressed came out differently.", "I wish that it could have it's problems work out and if I find one (with the problems worked out) I would probably invest in it, but for now, I am just staying with my 6100 for backup (some people need a \"rough and tumble\" backup device, me being one." ]
I usually only use liquid body soap, partly because it's a pain when I drop bar soaps, and unless I have a washcloth the lather isn't as nice. When I saw this exfoliator that firmly holds the soap in place (with Velcro no less), I decided to give it a try. The holder is a good size and even fits a thick bar of soap. The Velcro closure works very well to firmly keep the soap inside the sleeve. The soft washing side provides a nice bubbly lather. The exfoliating side, however, if pretty rough, even using a soft touch. I really can't use it as it hurts to the point of leaving scratches on my skin. But the most concerning part about this soap envelope, however, is that it doesn't dry between showers, and that doesn't seem sanitary. On the one hand, it can be washed, but on the other I hate to think of the bacteria forming due to moisture between washes. Even 24 hours after my last shower, it's still wet (not merely damp). All in all, this is handy for those who prefer bar soap, but it's not good enough to make me switch full time from liquid body wash.
1
neutral
[ "I usually only use liquid body soap, partly because it's a pain when I drop bar soaps, and unless I have a washcloth the lather isn't as nice.", "When I saw this exfoliator that firmly holds the soap in place (with Velcro no less), I decided to give it a try.", "The holder is a good size and even fits a thick bar of soap.", "The Velcro closure works very well to firmly keep the soap inside the sleeve.", "The soft washing side provides a nice bubbly lather.", "The exfoliating side, however, if pretty rough, even using a soft touch.", "I really can't use it as it hurts to the point of leaving scratches on my skin.", "But the most concerning part about this soap envelope, however, is that it doesn't dry between showers, and that doesn't seem sanitary.", "On the one hand, it can be washed, but on the other I hate to think of the bacteria forming due to moisture between washes.", "Even 24 hours after my last shower, it's still wet (not merely damp).", "All in all, this is handy for those who prefer bar soap, but it's not good enough to make me switch full time from liquid body wash." ]
Okay so as you may or may not know, Hubby and I pick movies that we'll watch together as well as apart. He'd been talking about this movie and I had no plans on watching it. But you have to give a little, to get a little.... I am not major on Dave Chappell. I do like that he's "HIM SELF" I've seen him in a few interviews, and I like how he comes off as a real dude not trying to pretend to meet anyone else standards. Four friends decide to join in the joys of smoking weed. Initially none of them are changed. Or so it appeared as they decide that a sugar rush would be so much better! A second on the lips and a lifetime in your grips.... The four friends grow up, and live together in NYC. Thurgood Jenkins (Dave Chappelle) is a master of custodial arts. Scarface, is a cook in a fast food restaurant. Brian (Jim Breuer he looks nuts)works in a music store. Kenny (Harland Williams another nut) is a kindergarten teacher. After the foursome engage in there usual routine for the evening, it's time for the muchie patrol! "So who is on it tonight?" As Kenny finds his way to pick up the snacks he comes across Buttercup. He can't not stop, and talk. So why not share a few snacks. Yo, Kenny didn't come home last night. As the team discovers why, the countdown has now begun and they have to find away to keep Kenny from the naughty jungle of love! Thurgood meets Mary Jane (of all the names) and he's captivated by the fact that he hasn't been with a woman in sometime because his habit has seemingly kept him from a lot of things. As he perpetrates the facts of his life, he and the fellas decide to become FUNDRAISERS. Which oddly enough appears to be what they are all good at! With each new sale they chart the different type of people this particular habit has. But Samson is quick to diffuse what may have been there joy! Or is he? Watch as the fellas set out to join forces and induct some new members. Love also appears to be tugging at Thurgood. He has to now choose between the Mary Jane he's loved for years, or the Mary Jane he just met. Which girl wins in the end?
1
neutral
[ "Okay so as you may or may not know, Hubby and I pick movies that we'll watch together as well as apart.", "He'd been talking about this movie and I had no plans on watching it.", "But you have to give a little, to get a little....", "I am not major on Dave Chappell.", "I do like that he's \"HIM SELF\" I've seen him in a few interviews, and I like how he comes off as a real dude not trying to pretend to meet anyone else standards.", "Four friends decide to join in the joys of smoking weed.", "Initially none of them are changed.", "Or so it appeared as they decide that a sugar rush would be so much better!", "A second on the lips and a lifetime in your grips....", "The four friends grow up, and live together in NYC.", "Thurgood Jenkins (Dave Chappelle) is a master of custodial arts.", "Scarface, is a cook in a fast food restaurant.", "Brian (Jim Breuer he looks nuts)works in a music store.", "Kenny (Harland Williams another nut) is a kindergarten teacher.", "After the foursome engage in there usual routine for the evening, it's time for the muchie patrol!", "\"So who is on it tonight?", "\"\n\nAs Kenny finds his way to pick up the snacks he comes across Buttercup.", "He can't not stop, and talk.", "So why not share a few snacks.", "Yo, Kenny didn't come home last night.", "As the team discovers why, the countdown has now begun and they have to find away to keep Kenny from the naughty jungle of love!", "Thurgood meets Mary Jane (of all the names) and he's captivated by the fact that he hasn't been with a woman in sometime because his habit has seemingly kept him from a lot of things.", "As he perpetrates the facts of his life, he and the fellas decide to become FUNDRAISERS.", "Which oddly enough appears to be what they are all good at!", "With each new sale they chart the different type of people this particular habit has.", "But Samson is quick to diffuse what may have been there joy!", "Or is he?", "Watch as the fellas set out to join forces and induct some new members.", "Love also appears to be tugging at Thurgood.", "He has to now choose between the Mary Jane he's loved for years, or the Mary Jane he just met.", "Which girl wins in the end?" ]
There is a lot going on within the technology of flashlights recently. LED, Lithium batteries, focus bezels, etc. The Mini Mag has fallen behind a bit technologically, but is still a great little flashlight for minor emergencies NOT involving looking for criminals, terrorists or signalling for a chopper pick up. The mini Mag is perfect for a pocket or a ladies purse. The product is very durable and they are proven reliable. Don't get me wrong. I've depended on Mag lites of all sizes for years. But head to head , the Surefire brands have quickly surpassed Mag lite in every important aspect of flashlights - usable light power, size, durability and weight. The Mag light brand just aren't keeping up. And that's too bad for us who value product loyalty. The Mini Mag is a good value and I have several in the house and the vehicles. But they're being replaced by Surefires as they wear out. John Row
1
neutral
[ "There is a lot going on within the technology of flashlights recently.", "LED, Lithium batteries, focus bezels, etc.", "The Mini Mag has fallen behind a bit technologically, but is still a great little flashlight for minor emergencies NOT involving looking for criminals, terrorists or signalling for a chopper pick up.", "The mini Mag is perfect for a pocket or a ladies purse.", "The product is very durable and they are proven reliable.", "Don't get me wrong.", "I've depended on Mag lites of all sizes for years.", "But head to head , the Surefire brands have quickly surpassed Mag lite in every important aspect of flashlights - usable light power, size, durability and weight.", "The Mag light brand just aren't keeping up.", "And that's too bad for us who value product loyalty.", "The Mini Mag is a good value and I have several in the house and the vehicles.", "But they're being replaced by Surefires as they wear out.", "John Row" ]
"Grizzly" is a horror movie from 1976 about a prehistoric monster-bear with a penchant for walking on two legs and an insatiable appetite for human flesh. The film itself is so-so. Occasionally, it's too much of a splatter movie. But yes, if you bear in mind (pun unintended) that "Grizzly" was made in 1976, I suppose you could be entertained or even slightly scared by it. Personally, I think the bear is pretty cool! Despite the title, the mama bear featured in the movie is a trained Kodiak bear, not an actual grizzly. Apparently, the same bear also shows up in "Day of the Animals", a more interesting flick. It seems acting runs in the family, at least as far as bears are concerned. The unnamed bear in "Grizzly" eventually gave birth to Bart the Bear, another trained Kodiak who went on to become a super-star. He was featured in about a dozen Hollywood and TV productions, including a documentary about himself! If you have a crush on bears (the animals, that is), you might find "Grizzly" to be a real scorcher. I mean, Kodiak bears are IMMENSE. Just fast-forward every time the teddy supposedly slashes some hiker or park ranger. Three stars - for the nature documentary aspect.
1
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[ "\"Grizzly\" is a horror movie from 1976 about a prehistoric monster-bear with a penchant for walking on two legs and an insatiable appetite for human flesh.", "The film itself is so-so.", "Occasionally, it's too much of a splatter movie.", "But yes, if you bear in mind (pun unintended) that \"Grizzly\" was made in 1976, I suppose you could be entertained or even slightly scared by it.", "Personally, I think the bear is pretty cool!", "Despite the title, the mama bear featured in the movie is a trained Kodiak bear, not an actual grizzly.", "Apparently, the same bear also shows up in \"Day of the Animals\", a more interesting flick.", "It seems acting runs in the family, at least as far as bears are concerned.", "The unnamed bear in \"Grizzly\" eventually gave birth to Bart the Bear, another trained Kodiak who went on to become a super-star.", "He was featured in about a dozen Hollywood and TV productions, including a documentary about himself!", "If you have a crush on bears (the animals, that is), you might find \"Grizzly\" to be a real scorcher.", "I mean, Kodiak bears are IMMENSE.", "Just fast-forward every time the teddy supposedly slashes some hiker or park ranger.", "Three stars - for the nature documentary aspect." ]
Please be very careful if you order this edition of the classic Monty Python comedy. As I have just learned the hardest way possible, the center pegs in the case require a lot of care and patience when inserting or removing a disc. Too much force will cause the disc to bend and break. The center pegs are made of a hard plastic that's all one piece, therefore making it almost impossible to remove the discs without risking breaking it. As much as I love this movie, I have to give this set 3 stars just because the way the case was made caused me to accidentally ruin the bonus disc, which I was very excited to watch. Oh well. At least I got the screenplay out of it. Once again, this review has nothing to do with the movie. I LOVE the movie. I just hate the way they made this case.
1
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[ "Please be very careful if you order this edition of the classic Monty Python comedy.", "As I have just learned the hardest way possible, the center pegs in the case require a lot of care and patience when inserting or removing a disc.", "Too much force will cause the disc to bend and break.", "The center pegs are made of a hard plastic that's all one piece, therefore making it almost impossible to remove the discs without risking breaking it.", "As much as I love this movie, I have to give this set 3 stars just because the way the case was made caused me to accidentally ruin the bonus disc, which I was very excited to watch.", "Oh well.", "At least I got the screenplay out of it.", "Once again, this review has nothing to do with the movie.", "I LOVE the movie.", "I just hate the way they made this case." ]
We've had this for a few years and it has always worked well. No moving parts, 100% plastic, can mount to a tree, wooden post or just about anything that you can put screws into. We got a hideous amount of rain a few weeks ago and the gauge told me it had been only 1/2" total rainfall. Not possible. I spoke to a neighbor, who has a number of gauges, and all of hers said 6" had fallen. The problem was that this plastic rain gauge had split along the sides from the bottom of the container (top of the plastic stake) nearly all the way up to the top. I filled it up at a faucet and it emptied out in about 15 seconds. Not sure what caused it to break as it just sits there in none location all year long. Fortunately, it's an inexpensive unit so a few bucks every few years won't break the bank. Just check the edges every once in a while for any cracks.
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[ "We've had this for a few years and it has always worked well.", "No moving parts, 100% plastic, can mount to a tree, wooden post or just about anything that you can put screws into.", "We got a hideous amount of rain a few weeks ago and the gauge told me it had been only 1/2\" total rainfall.", "Not possible.", "I spoke to a neighbor, who has a number of gauges, and all of hers said 6\" had fallen.", "The problem was that this plastic rain gauge had split along the sides from the bottom of the container (top of the plastic stake) nearly all the way up to the top.", "I filled it up at a faucet and it emptied out in about 15 seconds.", "Not sure what caused it to break as it just sits there in none location all year long.", "Fortunately, it's an inexpensive unit so a few bucks every few years won't break the bank.", "Just check the edges every once in a while for any cracks." ]
In regards to the story and battles this game is pretty much standard JRPG fodder. Most of the characters are pretty interesting and you are interested to learn more about them and to see their relationships develop. The main character is surprisingly the weakest character in the game, the person you're most likely to be the least interested in unfortunately. The thing that keeps me playing this game is the ability to create items with things you find while playing. You can create items for different vendors and increase the popularity of their store and progress your relationship with that person. Also you can create items that you can apply to weapons to give them different effects and you can create different potions and such to use during battle such as ice bombs, fire bombs, and more. This creation process kept me going and wanting to move forward to make better and better things more than the story ever did. What I hate about this game is the main character Klein who is possibly the most boring lead character ever, items from Vendors cost a lot more than they should and they are almost always out of stock on items you really need...the music is unremarkable all around, the character voice tracks sometimes stop playing mid dialogue, the game will lock up while transitioning between scenes at times and some completely unneccesary animations during routine tasks causing 10 second delays in game play. Despite this the game is certainly worth playing and should keep you interested long enough to beat it.
1
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[ "In regards to the story and battles this game is pretty much standard JRPG fodder.", "Most of the characters are pretty interesting and you are interested to learn more about them and to see their relationships develop.", "The main character is surprisingly the weakest character in the game, the person you're most likely to be the least interested in unfortunately.", "The thing that keeps me playing this game is the ability to create items with things you find while playing.", "You can create items for different vendors and increase the popularity of their store and progress your relationship with that person.", "Also you can create items that you can apply to weapons to give them different effects and you can create different potions and such to use during battle such as ice bombs, fire bombs, and more.", "This creation process kept me going and wanting to move forward to make better and better things more than the story ever did.", "What I hate about this game is the main character Klein who is possibly the most boring lead character ever, items from Vendors cost a lot more than they should and they are almost always out of stock on items you really need...", "the music is unremarkable all around, the character voice tracks sometimes stop playing mid dialogue, the game will lock up while transitioning between scenes at times and some completely unneccesary animations during routine tasks causing 10 second delays in game play.", "Despite this the game is certainly worth playing and should keep you interested long enough to beat it." ]
EPA spending almost $25 000 to install a secure phone booth for Scott Pruitt Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will have a soundproof communication booth. (Susan Walsh/AP) The Environmental Protection Agency is spending nearly $25 000 to construct a secure soundproof communications booth in the office of Administrator Scott Pruitt according to government contracting records. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 25 in Oxon Hill Md. (The Washington Post) In recent months Pruitt and his top deputies have taken other steps aimed at heightening security. Some EPA employees have been asked to surrender their cellphones and other digital devices before meetings in the administrator’s office in much the same way visitors do when visiting the president in the Oval Office. [ Scott Pruitt says it ’s not the time to talk climate change. For him it never is.] Pruitt also has shied away from using email at EPA often preferring to deliver instructions verbally and hold face-to-face meetings. The shift stems in part from public disclosure by the New York Times in 2014 — following an open-records request of emails — of how Pruitt and other attorneys general had worked closely with the oil and gas industry to oppose Obama administration environmental safeguards. Thousands more pages of emails from his time as Oklahoma’s attorney general released earlier this year after the Center for Media and Democracy sued for them to be made public detailed an often-chummy relationship between Pruitt ’s office and Devon Energy a major oil and gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City. In addition Pruitt has largely avoided the agency’s decades-long practice of publicly posting the administrator’s appointment calendars. Only last week were details on months worth of meetings released after media outlets filed repeated Freedom of Information Act requests for that information; they showed he has met regularly with corporate executives from the automobile mining and fossil fuel industries — in several instances shortly before making decisions favorable to those interest groups. Pruitt who has become a polarizing and high-profile figure as he seeks to roll back Obama-era policies and shrink the EPA’s footprint has essentially tripled the personal security detail that served past administrators. The detail now includes about 18 people to cover round-the-clock needs and his frequent travel schedule. Such 24/7 coverage has prompted officials to rotate in special agents from around the country who otherwise would be investigating environmental crimes.
1
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[ "EPA spending almost $25 000 to install a secure phone booth for Scott Pruitt\nEnvironmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will have a soundproof communication booth.", "(Susan Walsh/AP)\nThe Environmental Protection Agency is spending nearly $25 000 to construct a secure soundproof communications booth in the office of Administrator Scott Pruitt according to government contracting records.", "Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb.", "25 in Oxon Hill Md.", "(The Washington Post)\nIn recent months Pruitt and his top deputies have taken other steps aimed at heightening security.", "Some EPA employees have been asked to surrender their cellphones and other digital devices before meetings in the administrator’s office in much the same way visitors do when visiting the president in the Oval Office.", "[ Scott Pruitt says it ’s not the time to talk climate change.", "For him it never is.", "]\n Pruitt also has shied away from using email at EPA often preferring to deliver instructions verbally and hold face-to-face meetings.", "The shift stems in part from public disclosure by the New York Times in 2014 — following an open-records request of emails — of how Pruitt and other attorneys general had worked closely with the oil and gas industry to oppose Obama administration environmental safeguards.", "Thousands more pages of emails from his time as Oklahoma’s attorney general released earlier this year after the Center for Media and Democracy sued for them to be made public detailed an often-chummy relationship between Pruitt ’s office and Devon Energy a major oil and gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City.", "In addition Pruitt has largely avoided the agency’s decades-long practice of publicly posting the administrator’s appointment calendars.", "Only last week were details on months worth of meetings released after media outlets filed repeated Freedom of Information Act requests for that information; they showed he has met regularly with corporate executives from the automobile mining and fossil fuel industries — in several instances shortly before making decisions favorable to those interest groups.", "Pruitt who has become a polarizing and high-profile figure as he seeks to roll back Obama-era policies and shrink the EPA’s footprint has essentially tripled the personal security detail that served past administrators.", "The detail now includes about 18 people to cover round-the-clock needs and his frequent travel schedule.", "Such 24/7 coverage has prompted officials to rotate in special agents from around the country who otherwise would be investigating environmental crimes." ]
I originally bought this remote because I was too lazy to learn how to navigate with the regular controller. I got tired of having to wait from "wake up" the PS3 controller to pause my movie or to resume. I gave this device 3 stars because it does what it was designed to do, it lacked features that you would find on a standard remote, and it's poor design. I'll start with all the bad stuff since that what you want to know about the product before you buy it. Well the biggest reason people buy this is to have a device that makes watching/navigating a movie easier. Most people watch movies in the dark so having button that would light up or glow would of helped. Most of the better manufactured remotes come with this feature. Like most other people complained, this stop button will take you back to the PS3 screen instead of just stopping the movie and going back to the main menu. Certain movies have a auto-resume feature that will let you jump back at the same spot. So if the movie you are watching doesn't have that feature, it becomes very inconvenient to have to so search for your spot. I also don't know why they didn't combined the pause and play button. Many people complained that pressing any button will turn on your PS3. What most people don't realize it's because of the bluetooth, which was a very poor implementation for a remote. Bluetooth was meant to be used for devices transferring low data rates and security. The PS3 is actually in a standby mode than turned off. When it is in standby, the bluetooth is still active and when it recognizes a command, it will wake the PS3 up to receive commands. A feature of bluetooth is to shut off after a period of time of inactivity to save power. This is why some people complain about having to press a button twice. First press "wake" it up and the second one executes the function of their choice. After saying all that, it still sucks that you turn on your PS3 every time a button is accidentally pressed. The only advantage to having bluetooth is that you don't have to point it at the PS3 to use it. If you rub you finger or thumb lightly over any of the lettering on the remote, you can feel the texture of the letters. If you can feel the lettering that easy, that means the manufacture printed the lettering on top without any type of coating. What does this mean? It means that after a good amount of use, the lettering will rub off and you will have to know what the button does. This probably doesn't affect most people, but if you have an older PS3, you might have to update your firmware before it works. You have to have firmware v1.30 or higher to use the remote. Sony has been in the business of making electronic devices and this definitely did not show any ingenuity for a device that you can only use on your PS3. With the exception of the analog sticks, the remote has every button you can press on the PS3 controller in the center of the remote. I guess you can look at it like an oversize PS3 controller. Overall if you are wanting a remote to watch your movies instead of using your controller and you don't mind spending roughly $20, then this would benefit you. If you don't mind using the PS3 controller for all your needs, then you can definitely pass this up. I don't know of any blu-rays that require this remote to access certain features.
1
neutral
[ "I originally bought this remote because I was too lazy to learn how to navigate with the regular controller.", "I got tired of having to wait from \"wake up\" the PS3 controller to pause my movie or to resume.", "I gave this device 3 stars because it does what it was designed to do, it lacked features that you would find on a standard remote, and it's poor design.", "I'll start with all the bad stuff since that what you want to know about the product before you buy it.", "Well the biggest reason people buy this is to have a device that makes watching/navigating a movie easier.", "Most people watch movies in the dark so having button that would light up or glow would of helped.", "Most of the better manufactured remotes come with this feature.", "Like most other people complained, this stop button will take you back to the PS3 screen instead of just stopping the movie and going back to the main menu.", "Certain movies have a auto-resume feature that will let you jump back at the same spot.", "So if the movie you are watching doesn't have that feature, it becomes very inconvenient to have to so search for your spot.", "I also don't know why they didn't combined the pause and play button.", "Many people complained that pressing any button will turn on your PS3.", "What most people don't realize it's because of the bluetooth, which was a very poor implementation for a remote.", "Bluetooth was meant to be used for devices transferring low data rates and security.", "The PS3 is actually in a standby mode than turned off.", "When it is in standby, the bluetooth is still active and when it recognizes a command, it will wake the PS3 up to receive commands.", "A feature of bluetooth is to shut off after a period of time of inactivity to save power.", "This is why some people complain about having to press a button twice.", "First press \"wake\" it up and the second one executes the function of their choice.", "After saying all that, it still sucks that you turn on your PS3 every time a button is accidentally pressed.", "The only advantage to having bluetooth is that you don't have to point it at the PS3 to use it.", "If you rub you finger or thumb lightly over any of the lettering on the remote, you can feel the texture of the letters.", "If you can feel the lettering that easy, that means the manufacture printed the lettering on top without any type of coating.", "What does this mean?", "It means that after a good amount of use, the lettering will rub off and you will have to know what the button does.", "This probably doesn't affect most people, but if you have an older PS3, you might have to update your firmware before it works.", "You have to have firmware v1.", "30 or higher to use the remote.", "Sony has been in the business of making electronic devices and this definitely did not show any ingenuity for a device that you can only use on your PS3.", "With the exception of the analog sticks, the remote has every button you can press on the PS3 controller in the center of the remote.", "I guess you can look at it like an oversize PS3 controller.", "Overall if you are wanting a remote to watch your movies instead of using your controller and you don't mind spending roughly $20, then this would benefit you.", "If you don't mind using the PS3 controller for all your needs, then you can definitely pass this up.", "I don't know of any blu-rays that require this remote to access certain features." ]
1 dead as Kenya police protesters clash during election Opposition leader Raila Odinga who got nearly 45 percent of the vote in August has said the new election won’t be credible because of a lack of electoral reform and accused Kenyatta of moving a country known for relative stability and openness toward authoritarian rule. Odinga ’s call for a boycott resonated strongly in Kisumu Kenya’s third-largest city and an opposition stronghold. He has urged followers to stay away from polling stations because of concerns about a crackdown by security forces. Human rights groups said police killed at least 67 people during protests after the August vote; authorities confirmed a smaller number of deaths and said they had to take action against rioters. Odinga has said the opposition coalition National Super Alliance will become a resistance movement. On Thursday he said the movement will constitute a “People’s Assembly to guide the country to a fresh free and fair presidential election” as part of a peaceful resistance that will include boycotting goods and services by those who have supported Kenyatta’s “lawless grab of the presidency.” Odinga and Kenyatta who seeks a second term also faced off in a 2013 election similarly marred by opposition allegations of vote-rigging. The opposition leader also ran unsuccessfully in 2007 — ethnic-fueled animosity after that vote killed more than 1 000 people and forced 600 000 from their homes. Many observers say Kenya’s ethnic-based politics overshadow the promise of its democracy. Kenyatta is a Kikuyu while Odinga is a Luo.
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[ "1 dead as Kenya police protesters clash during election\nOpposition leader Raila Odinga who got nearly 45 percent of the vote in August has said the new election won’t be credible because of a lack of electoral reform and accused Kenyatta of moving a country known for relative stability and openness toward authoritarian rule.", "Odinga ’s call for a boycott resonated strongly in Kisumu Kenya’s third-largest city and an opposition stronghold.", "He has urged followers to stay away from polling stations because of concerns about a crackdown by security forces.", "Human rights groups said police killed at least 67 people during protests after the August vote; authorities confirmed a smaller number of deaths and said they had to take action against rioters.", "Odinga has said the opposition coalition National Super Alliance will become a resistance movement.", "On Thursday he said the movement will constitute a “People’s Assembly to guide the country to a fresh free and fair presidential election” as part of a peaceful resistance that will include boycotting goods and services by those who have supported Kenyatta’s “lawless grab of the presidency.", "”\n Odinga and Kenyatta who seeks a second term also faced off in a 2013 election similarly marred by opposition allegations of vote-rigging.", "The opposition leader also ran unsuccessfully in 2007 — ethnic-fueled animosity after that vote killed more than 1 000 people and forced 600 000 from their homes.", "Many observers say Kenya’s ethnic-based politics overshadow the promise of its democracy.", "Kenyatta is a Kikuyu while Odinga is a Luo." ]
I have just recently finished the game. I only paid $[...] for it, so it was a good deal. Everyone knows of the adventure game genre. There were some good things about the game: the graphics were beautiful, foreign places. The game plays very straight forward: linear. There are only a few puzzles, one I found a little tricky. If you like this type of game, you might really like it. Not too many mind-twisting headaches. Overall there wasn't too much too it. A lot of dialog. It seems to me the game companys are making their game shorter and easier these days. I hope this review was useful.
1
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[ "I have just recently finished the game.", "I only paid $[...", "] for it, so it was a good deal.", "Everyone knows of the adventure game genre.", "There were some good things about the game: the graphics were beautiful, foreign places.", "The game plays very straight forward: linear.", "There are only a few puzzles, one I found a little tricky.", "If you like this type of game, you might really like it.", "Not too many mind-twisting headaches.", "Overall there wasn't too much too it.", "A lot of dialog.", "It seems to me the game companys are making their game shorter and easier these days.", "I hope this review was useful." ]
Let me admit off the bat, I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would. For the most part it was a very engaging film, with only a few misconceived dips into the low-brow humor barrel, which had the unfortunate effect of bursting the suspension-of-disbelief bubble so essential to going along with a movie like this. ("Okay, evolved, talking apes. Respect them. Fear them. Believe them. Okay. Oh, lookit that ape! Isn't that cute? Isn't that ridiculous? Oh, wait. Respect them. Fear them. Right.") Some of the acting was brilliant. Not, sadly, Mark Wahlberg's--not unless Burton directed him to act like he was sleepwalking, in which case he did that masterfully. But Tim Roth pulled off his role very convincingly, in spite of what was essentially a really non-threatening appearance. Oh, I don't doubt that enraged chimps in the wild are very frightening, but we've seen too many of these guys hamming it up on t.v. for me to really find them awesome in their native aspect. Kudos to Tim. Kudos, too, to Helena Bonham Carter, who even managed to minimize the disadvantage of a ludicrous 'do. Her performance was outstanding. She did the ape routine without making it seem camp--alas, more than some of her fellow simians could do. What drags this movie down primarily are the plot problems. People make stupid decisions. Monkeys make stupid decisions. The generally brilliant director makes a few clunkers himself. I can't really be more explicit than that without spoilers. The movie can be fun, if you don't go in expecting too much. I'm with film critic Alex Sandell, from "Juicy Cerebellum," who said, "Tim Burton doesn't quite manage to hit a homerun, but he does give us 2 hours of superficial fun, and, as far as this summer goes, that's good enough."
1
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[ "Let me admit off the bat, I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would.", "For the most part it was a very engaging film, with only a few misconceived dips into the low-brow humor barrel, which had the unfortunate effect of bursting the suspension-of-disbelief bubble so essential to going along with a movie like this.", "(\"Okay, evolved, talking apes.", "Respect them.", "Fear them.", "Believe them.", "Okay.", "Oh, lookit that ape!", "Isn't that cute?", "Isn't that ridiculous?", "Oh, wait.", "Respect them.", "Fear them.", "Right.", "\")\n\nSome of the acting was brilliant.", "Not, sadly, Mark Wahlberg's--not unless Burton directed him to act like he was sleepwalking, in which case he did that masterfully.", "But Tim Roth pulled off his role very convincingly, in spite of what was essentially a really non-threatening appearance.", "Oh, I don't doubt that enraged chimps in the wild are very frightening, but we've seen too many of these guys hamming it up on t.", "v. for me to really find them awesome in their native aspect.", "Kudos to Tim.", "Kudos, too, to Helena Bonham Carter, who even managed to minimize the disadvantage of a ludicrous 'do.", "Her performance was outstanding.", "She did the ape routine without making it seem camp--alas, more than some of her fellow simians could do.", "What drags this movie down primarily are the plot problems.", "People make stupid decisions.", "Monkeys make stupid decisions.", "The generally brilliant director makes a few clunkers himself.", "I can't really be more explicit than that without spoilers.", "The movie can be fun, if you don't go in expecting too much.", "I'm with film critic Alex Sandell, from \"Juicy Cerebellum,\" who said, \"Tim Burton doesn't quite manage to hit a homerun, but he does give us 2 hours of superficial fun, and, as far as this summer goes, that's good enough.", "\"" ]
The idea of killing pedestrians and stealing cars really appealed to me, as it would to anyone with a brain! Or should I say, any 'man' with a brain?! After a while, though, the game becomes lifeless and wooden! Still, for the first 40 minutes it's a great laugh! Go around knocking people over, shoot whoever you want, pick up whoever you want! After 40 minutes the novelty wares off, and you realise that GTA is just **** glossed over. The citizens constantly shout out the same abuse: "JACKASS", they say, "MORON" they say. They look unrealistic, stupid, and badly animated! They move unrealisticly. They react unrealistically. I mean, you can shoot directly at small groups of people and they won't run away, even if one of them get's killed, they just carry on their conversations like gormless idiots!
1
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[ "The idea of killing pedestrians and stealing cars really appealed to me, as it would to anyone with a brain!", "Or should I say, any 'man' with a brain?!", "After a while, though, the game becomes lifeless and wooden!", "Still, for the first 40 minutes it's a great laugh!", "Go around knocking people over, shoot whoever you want, pick up whoever you want!", "After 40 minutes the novelty wares off, and you realise that GTA is just **** glossed over.", "The citizens constantly shout out the same abuse: \"JACKASS\", they say, \"MORON\" they say.", "They look unrealistic, stupid, and badly animated!", "They move unrealisticly.", "They react unrealistically.", "I mean, you can shoot directly at small groups of people and they won't run away, even if one of them get's killed, they just carry on their conversations like gormless idiots!" ]
I realize there is a serious cult following of this book/series that will never be convinced of any flaws. And that being said, I bought this book really wanting to like it, but I just couldn't bring myself around. Here's why: 1. As everyone else has said, the jargon is just plain tedious. I can't excuse a book written in 200-year old sailing terms without a glossary. At least 20% of the action is incomprehensible because of this. Yes, you can press on like other reviewers have suggested, but that's frustrating at a minimum. 2. Sublety <> Confusion -- I don't need my plots and narratives handed to me on a silver platter, and I certainly enjoy figuring puzzles out, but O'Brian seems to be trying to actively confuse the reader with his writing. There are shifts in time/action/perspective that have nothing other than regular paragraph breaks between them. Unfinished battles are left abruptly, and historical context is neglected. 3. This is not a stand-alone book. It was written with the sole purpose of setting up the next 19, and as a result, has a an unsatisfying and rather predictable resolution. So why 3 stars? There is so much potential for greatness here. The Jack/Stephen relationship is well developed and the sea battles were fascinating affairs. And who doesn't like a good story about a maverick getting promoted through the ranks in spite of thumbing his nose at his superiors? It makes me want to read more...well, I might try the first chapter of Post Captain.
1
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[ "I realize there is a serious cult following of this book/series that will never be convinced of any flaws.", "And that being said, I bought this book really wanting to like it, but I just couldn't bring myself around.", "Here's why:\n\n1.", "As everyone else has said, the jargon is just plain tedious.", "I can't excuse a book written in 200-year old sailing terms without a glossary.", "At least 20% of the action is incomprehensible because of this.", "Yes, you can press on like other reviewers have suggested, but that's frustrating at a minimum.", "2.", "Sublety <> Confusion -- I don't need my plots and narratives handed to me on a silver platter, and I certainly enjoy figuring puzzles out, but O'Brian seems to be trying to actively confuse the reader with his writing.", "There are shifts in time/action/perspective that have nothing other than regular paragraph breaks between them.", "Unfinished battles are left abruptly, and historical context is neglected.", "3.", "This is not a stand-alone book.", "It was written with the sole purpose of setting up the next 19, and as a result, has a an unsatisfying and rather predictable resolution.", "So why 3 stars?", "There is so much potential for greatness here.", "The Jack/Stephen relationship is well developed and the sea battles were fascinating affairs.", "And who doesn't like a good story about a maverick getting promoted through the ranks in spite of thumbing his nose at his superiors?", "It makes me want to read more...", "well, I might try the first chapter of Post Captain." ]
I saw this film originally in the theater back in the 1990s. Watched it again on Netflix. It does not hold up over time. This is a film made by liberals for liberals with the emphasis on bashing Christians. It also serves as an advertisement for the Clinton administration appearing as a serious group of people. In retrospect that was obviously a falsehood given what has come out them over the last 20 years. Save yourself an hour and a half and just watch Dr. Arroway's journey in the "machine". The graphics are excellent and the dialogue very eloquent. The rest of the film is a lot of overwrought self-important liberal ideology that has all the finesse of a sledgehammer. Giving it 3 stars for the graphics.
1
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[ "I saw this film originally in the theater back in the 1990s.", "Watched it again on Netflix.", "It does not hold up over time.", "This is a film made by liberals for liberals with the emphasis on bashing Christians.", "It also serves as an advertisement for the Clinton administration appearing as a serious group of people.", "In retrospect that was obviously a falsehood given what has come out them over the last 20 years.", "Save yourself an hour and a half and just watch Dr.", "Arroway's journey in the \"machine\".", "The graphics are excellent and the dialogue very eloquent.", "The rest of the film is a lot of overwrought self-important liberal ideology that has all the finesse of a sledgehammer.", "Giving it 3 stars for the graphics." ]
I liked quite a few parts to this story. I throughly enjoyed the heroine and the hero. Especially the heroine she was tough, determined, brave, and compassionate. I also liked the Irish legacy woven into the story. The secondary characters were entertaining and nicly developed. In fact, I liked the secondary characters so much I HATED when they died. I don't want to give too much away but there was so much death. Believe me, I love a story that has emotional twisting turns...but I was beginning to feel stomped on while reading this book. I also thought it was a bit too long. At one point; I was like come on! What else could go wrong?!? Regardless, the writing was pretty solid and Im glad I read it.
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[ "I liked quite a few parts to this story.", "I throughly enjoyed the heroine and the hero.", "Especially the heroine she was tough, determined, brave, and compassionate.", "I also liked the Irish legacy woven into the story.", "The secondary characters were entertaining and nicly developed.", "In fact, I liked the secondary characters so much I HATED when they died.", "I don't want to give too much away but there was so much death.", "Believe me, I love a story that has emotional twisting turns...", "but I was beginning to feel stomped on while reading this book.", "I also thought it was a bit too long.", "At one point; I was like come on!", "What else could go wrong?!", "?", "Regardless, the writing was pretty solid and Im glad I read it." ]
We have two of these for my triplets. It's ok. It's small though, better for a smaller child. The walking part with it left a bit to be desired. The wheels don't roll smoothly and there isn't allot of room for them to walk when pushing it. Early walkers still have a wider stride so they need more room. There's not allot of seat room. It fits my tinier daughter but not my larger son. It has no gut room for him. So it's ok for a tinier child.
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[ "We have two of these for my triplets.", "It's ok.", "It's small though, better for a smaller child.", "The walking part with it left a bit to be desired.", "The wheels don't roll smoothly and there isn't allot of room for them to walk when pushing it.", "Early walkers still have a wider stride so they need more room.", "There's not allot of seat room.", "It fits my tinier daughter but not my larger son.", "It has no gut room for him.", "So it's ok for a tinier child." ]
Simply put, this game is no PGR 2. The previous version was much more user friendly, more "arcade" like in terms of the actual racing and feel, and just MORE FUN. This game very closely resembles another XBOX game called FORZA motorsport, which NEVER hit the level of expectation that people hoped for. It drives and LOOKS very similar to Forza. The cars are now harder to control, they offer less options in terms of "leveled" cars...most cars are fast, more like "super car" and above when compared to PGR 2. The new game options are fine, except for this "no collision" option in KUDOS RANKED racing...which is a joke. Collisions is a part of the competition, and now can be turned off even in ranked games. The good people over at PGR 3 must have played too much FORZA when they created this "twin". Instead of taking a chance and just "upscaling" graphics and adding new tracks and cars to PGR 2, they decided to create a new game, and as usual, it led to what I'd call a disappointment, and I'm a hardcore PGR 2 fan.
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[ "Simply put, this game is no PGR 2.", "The previous version was much more user friendly, more \"arcade\" like in terms of the actual racing and feel, and just MORE FUN.", "This game very closely resembles another XBOX game called FORZA motorsport, which NEVER hit the level of expectation that people hoped for.", "It drives and LOOKS very similar to Forza.", "The cars are now harder to control, they offer less options in terms of \"leveled\" cars...", "most cars are fast, more like \"super car\" and above when compared to PGR 2.", "The new game options are fine, except for this \"no collision\" option in KUDOS RANKED racing...", "which is a joke.", "Collisions is a part of the competition, and now can be turned off even in ranked games.", "The good people over at PGR 3 must have played too much FORZA when they created this \"twin\".", "Instead of taking a chance and just \"upscaling\" graphics and adding new tracks and cars to PGR 2, they decided to create a new game, and as usual, it led to what I'd call a disappointment, and I'm a hardcore PGR 2 fan." ]
As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey (That worked in several electronic stores), I am often asked to write and or discuss various audio products and recordings from the 60's and 70's. TEAC W-600R Dual Full-Logic Cassette The Teac unit gives you the ability to play on both portions of the deck and record on one. Although you may be tempted to use high speed dubbing, take the extra time and record in the normal mode. Very few decks (Especially in the price range of 100.00) were able to offer trouble free high-speed dubbing. The old saying you get what you pay for is realistic. The construction is not made for heavy use on a daily basis and you need to operate the controls with care and not reckless abandon. If you take it easy on the controls and use but don't abuse, for the price you will be satisfied. As always try to use quality tapes such as Maxell or TDK for the cassette portion and please keep the tape heads clean or it circumvents the idea of a nice investment. Dirty heads will give the playback muddy results. Enjoy the music and be well, Craig Fenton Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"
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[ "As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book \"Take Me To A Circus Tent\" and a former radio disc-jockey (That worked in several electronic stores), I am often asked to write and or discuss various audio products and recordings from the 60's and 70's.", "TEAC W-600R Dual Full-Logic Cassette\n\nThe Teac unit gives you the ability to play on both portions of the deck and record on one.", "Although you may be tempted to use high speed dubbing, take the extra time and record in the normal mode.", "Very few decks (Especially in the price range of 100.", "00) were able to offer trouble free high-speed dubbing.", "The old saying you get what you pay for is realistic.", "The construction is not made for heavy use on a daily basis and you need to operate the controls with care and not reckless abandon.", "If you take it easy on the controls and use but don't abuse, for the price you will be satisfied.", "As always try to use quality tapes such as Maxell or TDK for the cassette portion and please keep the tape heads clean or it circumvents the idea of a nice investment.", "Dirty heads will give the playback muddy results.", "Enjoy the music and be well,\nCraig Fenton\nAuthor of the Jefferson Airplane book \"Take Me To A Circus Tent\"" ]
When this first came out in 1975 as a vinyl LP, Barry White, as a solo artist, only had seven legitimate hit singles to that point, so the inclusion of three tracks (5, 8 and 10) that were not themselves hits - i.e., charters on any of the Billboard Pop Hot 100, R&B or Adult Contemporary (AC) listings - was understandable. But whereas most CDs covering such early albums have been blessed with "bonus" tracks, this 1990 release has never been so upgraded. The skimpiness of the package is then magnified by the complete lack of liner notes, not to mention a discography of the contents which would have at least explained where those three non-hits came from. Were they failed singles or culled from an album? The seven hits that are here are, certainly, still among the best of the 46 he registered from early 1973 to 1999, the first 18 on the 20th Century label (he would have two more on that label after moving to Unlimited Gold in 1979), not to mention the seven instrumentals as leader of the 40-piece The Love Unlimited Orchestra from 1973 to 1977, and the first hit on Uni in 1972 for the female vocal trio known as Love Unlimited on which Barry's voice is heard on the telephone. His first as a solo artist was the smash I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby which made it to # 1 R&B, # 3 Hot 100 and # 27 AC in May/June 1973 on 20th Century 2018 b/w Just A Little More Baby, followed later that summer by I've Got So Much To Give, a # 5 R&B/# 32 Hot 100/# 46 AC in August on 20th Century 2042 b/w an instrumental version of the same tune. He then closed out 1973 with the # 2 R&B/# 7 Hot 100/# 40 AC Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up on 20th Century 2058 b/w a longer version of the same tune (this is the hit side). 1974 also produced three hits, with the first, Honey Please, Can't Ya See, peaking at # 6 R&B/# 44 Hot 100 in March/April on 20th Century 2077 b/w an instrumental rendition of the same song. Later that summer, Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe became his second # 1 R&B (where it stayed for 3 weeks), and his first Hot 100 # 1, as well as # 26 AC on 20th Century 2120 b/w Just Not Enough, and around Christmas, You're The First, The Last, My Everything also became a R&B # 1, and hit # 2 Hot 100 on 20th Century 2133 b/w More Than Anything, You're My Everything. The final hit presented here, What Am I Gonna Do With You?, was his fourth R&B # 1, reaching that level in April/May 1975 on 2oth Century 2177 b/w What Am I Gonna Do With You Baby? Two more hits would follow that year. The AAD sound is excellent, and if a particular song or two of his that you're seeking is in the CD, rest assured it's the original and of the highest quality. But other than that, I would suggest looking around for a more recent compilation presenting many more of his hits and also providing the kind of background information that most music-buyers look for these days. Such as the 2-CD 30-track set Barry White The Ultimate Collection which gives you everything in here except those non-hit tracks.
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[ "When this first came out in 1975 as a vinyl LP, Barry White, as a solo artist, only had seven legitimate hit singles to that point, so the inclusion of three tracks (5, 8 and 10) that were not themselves hits - i.", "e., charters on any of the Billboard Pop Hot 100, R&B or Adult Contemporary (AC) listings - was understandable.", "But whereas most CDs covering such early albums have been blessed with \"bonus\" tracks, this 1990 release has never been so upgraded.", "The skimpiness of the package is then magnified by the complete lack of liner notes, not to mention a discography of the contents which would have at least explained where those three non-hits came from.", "Were they failed singles or culled from an album?", "The seven hits that are here are, certainly, still among the best of the 46 he registered from early 1973 to 1999, the first 18 on the 20th Century label (he would have two more on that label after moving to Unlimited Gold in 1979), not to mention the seven instrumentals as leader of the 40-piece The Love Unlimited Orchestra from 1973 to 1977, and the first hit on Uni in 1972 for the female vocal trio known as Love Unlimited on which Barry's voice is heard on the telephone.", "His first as a solo artist was the smash I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby which made it to # 1 R&B, # 3 Hot 100 and # 27 AC in May/June 1973 on 20th Century 2018 b/w Just A Little More Baby, followed later that summer by I've Got So Much To Give, a # 5 R&B/# 32 Hot 100/# 46 AC in August on 20th Century 2042 b/w an instrumental version of the same tune.", "He then closed out 1973 with the # 2 R&B/# 7 Hot 100/# 40 AC Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up on 20th Century 2058 b/w a longer version of the same tune (this is the hit side).", "1974 also produced three hits, with the first, Honey Please, Can't Ya See, peaking at # 6 R&B/# 44 Hot 100 in March/April on 20th Century 2077 b/w an instrumental rendition of the same song.", "Later that summer, Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe became his second # 1 R&B (where it stayed for 3 weeks), and his first Hot 100 # 1, as well as # 26 AC on 20th Century 2120 b/w Just Not Enough, and around Christmas, You're The First, The Last, My Everything also became a R&B # 1, and hit # 2 Hot 100 on 20th Century 2133 b/w More Than Anything, You're My Everything.", "The final hit presented here, What Am I Gonna Do With You?", ", was his fourth R&B # 1, reaching that level in April/May 1975 on 2oth Century 2177 b/w What Am I Gonna Do With You Baby?", "Two more hits would follow that year.", "The AAD sound is excellent, and if a particular song or two of his that you're seeking is in the CD, rest assured it's the original and of the highest quality.", "But other than that, I would suggest looking around for a more recent compilation presenting many more of his hits and also providing the kind of background information that most music-buyers look for these days.", "Such as the 2-CD 30-track set Barry White The Ultimate Collection which gives you everything in here except those non-hit tracks." ]
In ancient Japan, a ronin was a samurai warrior whose master had been killed in disgrace. When this happened, the ronin lost his reason for being a soldier and often began a career as a hired assassin or mercenary. This bit of history acts as a metaphor for the characters in the film, Ronin. Robert de Niro is Sam, a middle-aged former CIA agent who, claiming to be broke, takes a job with a mysterious group in France. In Paris he meets the rest of the team. They include Vincent [Jean Reno], an ex French espionage agent, and Diedre [Natascha McElhone], who is in charge of the group and who was probably a major player in the IRA. The mission is to steal a package from another group, which is apparently manned with other former agents. The metaphor quickly begins to unfold. Like those ancient ronins, these people were fighters in causes that have ceased to exist. The difference is that their masters were political ones. They now double-cross and double deal for no noble purpose. In true thriller style, neither we nor the gang members are privy to the contents of this package. The contents become almost beside the point, as we watch these cynical, disenchanted characters chase after something they are willing to kill for. It's what they were trained to do, and that's what they do, even now that their reasons are vague, if not nonexistent. There are many good things about Ronin. I do not entirely agree with the general critical consensus that this is a grand return to days of stylish, inventive movie thrillers. True, there is no reliance on computerized special effects. It does contain two of the most spectacular car chases ever put on film. De Niro, as can be expected, is head and shoulders above the average modern anti-hero. But hasn't he always been better? Currently, as shown by him in Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown and this movie, he is in his deeply cynical phase. Expect him to mellow out in a few years. It is great to see 69-year old director John Frankenheimer back in the genre that made him famous. Two of his movies, The Manchurian Candidate [1962] and Seconds [1966], are two of the greatest thrillers ever made. But Ronin, while retaining essence of his earlier work, displays some unpleasant modern traits. Traditionally, the great car chases, as well as those on foot, have taken place in crowded cities or on busy highways. This heightens the suspense. The prototype of the modern chase was created in a brilliant 1969 film called Bullet. In it, cars careened around in a most spectacular setting - the streets of San Francisco. The ones in Ronin take place in the twisting streets of European cities, but unlike their predecessors, Ronin's characters manage to kill a number of innocent bystanders in the process. In real life, that's exactly what would happen, but this realistic approach backfires. I was disturbed by the fact that none of these deaths were ever referred to either in the film or by anyone I know who saw it. Movies about morally corrupt characters are acceptable, but it seems to me that some film makers today assume the audience is also corrupt. Surely, that's a fallacy on their part.
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[ "In ancient Japan, a ronin was a samurai warrior whose master had been killed in disgrace.", "When this happened, the ronin lost his reason for being a soldier and often began a career as a hired assassin or mercenary.", "This bit of history acts as a metaphor for the characters in the film, Ronin.", "Robert de Niro is Sam, a middle-aged former CIA agent who, claiming to be broke, takes a job with a mysterious group in France.", "In Paris he meets the rest of the team.", "They include Vincent [Jean Reno], an ex French espionage agent, and Diedre [Natascha McElhone], who is in charge of the group and who was probably a major player in the IRA.", "The mission is to steal a package from another group, which is apparently manned with other former agents.", "The metaphor quickly begins to unfold.", "Like those ancient ronins, these people were fighters in causes that have ceased to exist.", "The difference is that their masters were political ones.", "They now double-cross and double deal for no noble purpose.", "In true thriller style, neither we nor the gang members are privy to the contents of this package.", "The contents become almost beside the point, as we watch these cynical, disenchanted characters chase after something they are willing to kill for.", "It's what they were trained to do, and that's what they do, even now that their reasons are vague, if not nonexistent.", "There are many good things about Ronin.", "I do not entirely agree with the general critical consensus that this is a grand return to days of stylish, inventive movie thrillers.", "True, there is no reliance on computerized special effects.", "It does contain two of the most spectacular car chases ever put on film.", "De Niro, as can be expected, is head and shoulders above the average modern anti-hero.", "But hasn't he always been better?", "Currently, as shown by him in Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown and this movie, he is in his deeply cynical phase.", "Expect him to mellow out in a few years.", "It is great to see 69-year old director John Frankenheimer back in the genre that made him famous.", "Two of his movies, The Manchurian Candidate [1962] and Seconds [1966], are two of the greatest thrillers ever made.", "But Ronin, while retaining essence of his earlier work, displays some unpleasant modern traits.", "Traditionally, the great car chases, as well as those on foot, have taken place in crowded cities or on busy highways.", "This heightens the suspense.", "The prototype of the modern chase was created in a brilliant 1969 film called Bullet.", "In it, cars careened around in a most spectacular setting - the streets of San Francisco.", "The ones in Ronin take place in the twisting streets of European cities, but unlike their predecessors, Ronin's characters manage to kill a number of innocent bystanders in the process.", "In real life, that's exactly what would happen, but this realistic approach backfires.", "I was disturbed by the fact that none of these deaths were ever referred to either in the film or by anyone I know who saw it.", "Movies about morally corrupt characters are acceptable, but it seems to me that some film makers today assume the audience is also corrupt.", "Surely, that's a fallacy on their part." ]
"To some, Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader's perception of hell-as a crazed taxi driver's vision of New York City-was brilliant. To us, this gory cold-blooded story of sick mans lurid descent into violence is ugly and unredeeming." (Leonard Maltin's Movie Review). Maltin only gave the movie Two Stars out of Four Stars. In my opinion that's much too low. I will say this: I don't see this movie as Five Stars out of Five Stars or even Four Stars. I give it a solid Three Stars. I liked much of Schrader's script, because he encapsulated NYC perfectly for the time period. In a way I'm glad that I never saw the film before three days ago. It allowed me to go back in time and see things in the city for the way they once were. New York was bankrupt at the time and quite dirty. Harlem was getting worse before it was going to get better and the porn shops had already metastasized in the Manhattan downtown area. This was the world that Bickel was thrown into after Vietnam. What's so interesting is how by the end of the film Bickel goes from being a zero to a hero and that was not even his true intent! His madness begins to exhibit itself when he stalks Cybil Sheppard's character at the beginning of the movie. The supporting characters are solid. But why Foster was given top billing when her character is only in the movie for less than five minutes' screen time in the first hour of the film is beyond me. Sheppard was the more logical choice for top billing in my opinion. Paul Schrader has been a master at describing the lonely and disconnected man in his movies. American Gigolo and Light Sleeper are quite similar films and deal with men who are loners and have very little going for them in society save for their jobs. Those two films had more soul than this film. In Taxi Driver, despite the top notch performances, I feel that something was missing from the script. Many of the supporting characters were too laconic. Others were too loquacious in my opinion. But I admit that I probably need to see the movie again to understand it better. I might put it at Three and a Half Stars, but for the moment it is a solid Three Star rating. I marginally recommend this film because of the great Paul Schrader's screenplay and Martin Scorsese's fantastic direction. This was my 260th Amazon review. A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.
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[ "\"To some, Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader's perception of hell-as a crazed taxi driver's vision of New York City-was brilliant.", "To us, this gory cold-blooded story of sick mans lurid descent into violence is ugly and unredeeming.", "\" (Leonard Maltin's Movie Review).", "Maltin only gave the movie Two Stars out of Four Stars.", "In my opinion that's much too low.", "I will say this: I don't see this movie as Five Stars out of Five Stars or even Four Stars.", "I give it a solid Three Stars.", "I liked much of Schrader's script, because he encapsulated NYC perfectly for the time period.", "In a way I'm glad that I never saw the film before three days ago.", "It allowed me to go back in time and see things in the city for the way they once were.", "New York was bankrupt at the time and quite dirty.", "Harlem was getting worse before it was going to get better and the porn shops had already metastasized in the Manhattan downtown area.", "This was the world that Bickel was thrown into after Vietnam.", "What's so interesting is how by the end of the film Bickel goes from being a zero to a hero and that was not even his true intent!", "His madness begins to exhibit itself when he stalks Cybil Sheppard's character at the beginning of the movie.", "The supporting characters are solid.", "But why Foster was given top billing when her character is only in the movie for less than five minutes' screen time in the first hour of the film is beyond me.", "Sheppard was the more logical choice for top billing in my opinion.", "Paul Schrader has been a master at describing the lonely and disconnected man in his movies.", "American Gigolo and Light Sleeper are quite similar films and deal with men who are loners and have very little going for them in society save for their jobs.", "Those two films had more soul than this film.", "In Taxi Driver, despite the top notch performances, I feel that something was missing from the script.", "Many of the supporting characters were too laconic.", "Others were too loquacious in my opinion.", "But I admit that I probably need to see the movie again to understand it better.", "I might put it at Three and a Half Stars, but for the moment it is a solid Three Star rating.", "I marginally recommend this film because of the great Paul Schrader's screenplay and Martin Scorsese's fantastic direction.", "This was my 260th Amazon review.", "A.", "Nathaniel Wallace, Jr." ]
Building upon a tried and true foundation, IO Interactive releases the 3rd (though might more rightfully be called 2 1/2) Installment of the Hitman series. Admittedly not nearly as interesting or inspired as the superb Silent Assassin, Contracts is none the less a worthy addition to the francise. The decision to mix old missions with new ones can be taken as a mixed blessing. On the bright side it gives veteran Hitmen a chance to play the missions with a more modern take. The general presentation of Hitman has much improved since the original, and while I've not gotten to any of the throwback missions yet; they are supposed to be at least somewhat "remixed" from the originals. Furthermore, the idead also serves as sort of a "greatest hits" (no pun) for newcomers. Visually, the game is only slightly upgraded from its predicessor, mostly to take advantage of more modern graphics card abilities. Personally I think this is great since the engine itself still looks and performs quite nicely. Sound effects and musical score are both very nice though I woe to the exclusion of the subtle "twang" emitted when you tighten up the fibre wire in preparation for a takedown. Jesper Kyd's score shines as always, adding appropriate mood and drama where each is necessary. The overall gameplay, while steadilly refined since its original incarnation, is still largely the same. While this isn't necessarilly bad, it does lend even more familiarity to a game that already treads along the lines of "been there, done that." All in all Hitman 2 1/2 is still a solid game despite somewhat uninspired execution. (the puns the puns!) If nothing else it definitely serves to wet one's appetite for the upcomming 4th installment.
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[ "Building upon a tried and true foundation, IO Interactive releases the 3rd (though might more rightfully be called 2 1/2) Installment of the Hitman series.", "Admittedly not nearly as interesting or inspired as the superb Silent Assassin, Contracts is none the less a worthy addition to the francise.", "The decision to mix old missions with new ones can be taken as a mixed blessing.", "On the bright side it gives veteran Hitmen a chance to play the missions with a more modern take.", "The general presentation of Hitman has much improved since the original, and while I've not gotten to any of the throwback missions yet; they are supposed to be at least somewhat \"remixed\" from the originals.", "Furthermore, the idead also serves as sort of a \"greatest hits\" (no pun) for newcomers.", "Visually, the game is only slightly upgraded from its predicessor, mostly to take advantage of more modern graphics card abilities.", "Personally I think this is great since the engine itself still looks and performs quite nicely.", "Sound effects and musical score are both very nice though I woe to the exclusion of the subtle \"twang\" emitted when you tighten up the fibre wire in preparation for a takedown.", "Jesper Kyd's score shines as always, adding appropriate mood and drama where each is necessary.", "The overall gameplay, while steadilly refined since its original incarnation, is still largely the same.", "While this isn't necessarilly bad, it does lend even more familiarity to a game that already treads along the lines of \"been there, done that.", "\"\n\nAll in all Hitman 2 1/2 is still a solid game despite somewhat uninspired execution.", "(the puns the puns!", ") If nothing else it definitely serves to wet one's appetite for the upcomming 4th installment." ]
I rented this game some time ago, and I'm slightly surprised by the high ratings. I consider it pretty average. It looks pretty good, and it's amusing, but I beat it with 100% completion the first time through. It was very, very short. I rented it and returned it early.. so it took less than 2 days to beat it. The mini games you unlock are fun 2-3 times. They can't actually be beaten. You just keep playing a circle of strange little games that get harder and harder till there's no way to pass the level. All in all.. I'd rent it, beat it, return it. Not a whole lot of replay value. Not a bomb, but no worth buying. Thusly, the average 3 stars.
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[ "I rented this game some time ago, and I'm slightly surprised by the high ratings.", "I consider it pretty average.", "It looks pretty good, and it's amusing, but I beat it with 100% completion the first time through.", "It was very, very short.", "I rented it and returned it early..", "so it took less than 2 days to beat it.", "The mini games you unlock are fun 2-3 times.", "They can't actually be beaten.", "You just keep playing a circle of strange little games that get harder and harder till there's no way to pass the level.", "All in all..", "I'd rent it, beat it, return it.", "Not a whole lot of replay value.", "Not a bomb, but no worth buying.", "Thusly, the average 3 stars." ]
I'm a huge Who fan, so it bothers me that I'm giving this DVD a rating of only three stars. Here's why: First, although the packaging claims that this is the Who's complete performance at the Isle of Wight, this is simply NOT the case. Look at the set list for the Who Live at the Isle of Wight CD (same performance as this DVD) that was released in 1996 and you can see the glaring and numerous omissions. For example, no "Naked Eye"?? Deleting "1921" from the performance of Tommy (the very song that explains why Tommy goes deaf, dumb and blind in the first place)?? Give me a break. Is the footage missing because it was somehow too damaged, or because the makers were just too lazy? Even worse, is there a plan afoot to "force" everyone to buy this DVD again by later releasing a "complete" or "expanded" edition? I don't know, but if the case is that all existing and salvagable footage was used, let the fans know in the liner notes so we can feel good about buying this DVD. Otherwise Mr. Lerner and Mr. Townshend, please add the rest of the footage and show the Who's performance in its entirety. The seemingly incomplete job evidenced on this DVD makes you appreciate Jeff Stein even more. He really went all out putting together the "The Kids Are Alright" DVD, including the addition of the "lost" portion of the "A Quick One" performance. Second, some of the footage is presented out of sequence. Again, see the 1996 CD of this performance for the actual set list. I'm not sure why the makers of this DVD would want to present a chopped up version of this great Who performance. It's a total crime if the missing footage is available. As for positive comments, hey, this is the Who being filmed at or near their peak as a live act. Saving for the reservations above, what more could a fan ask for? Also, the DTS and Dolby Digital sound is great. Finally, kudos to Mr. Lerner for conducting and including the Pete Townshend interview. Any Pete or Who fan will find it very interesting and revealing. Anyway, know what you are getting (and not getting) with this DVD, and rock on. In closing, the person who wrote the Amazon blurb on this and called the three "new" songs "awful" should really reconsider that view. One cannot fairly describe "Heaven and Hell", "I Don't Even Know Myself" or "Water" as awful unless they don't really like the Who in the first instance. This person is clearly a casual Who fan at best if he's a fan at all. I think, as I'm sure most Who fans would, that these rarities are gems and, more importantly, rock---there is much more to the Who's song catalog than the 12-15 "hits" that they always include on their far too numerous greatest hits compilations.
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[ "I'm a huge Who fan, so it bothers me that I'm giving this DVD a rating of only three stars.", "Here's why: First, although the packaging claims that this is the Who's complete performance at the Isle of Wight, this is simply NOT the case.", "Look at the set list for the Who Live at the Isle of Wight CD (same performance as this DVD) that was released in 1996 and you can see the glaring and numerous omissions.", "For example, no \"Naked Eye\"??", "Deleting \"1921\" from the performance of Tommy (the very song that explains why Tommy goes deaf, dumb and blind in the first place)??", "Give me a break.", "Is the footage missing because it was somehow too damaged, or because the makers were just too lazy?", "Even worse, is there a plan afoot to \"force\" everyone to buy this DVD again by later releasing a \"complete\" or \"expanded\" edition?", "I don't know, but if the case is that all existing and salvagable footage was used, let the fans know in the liner notes so we can feel good about buying this DVD.", "Otherwise Mr.", "Lerner and Mr.", "Townshend, please add the rest of the footage and show the Who's performance in its entirety.", "The seemingly incomplete job evidenced on this DVD makes you appreciate Jeff Stein even more.", "He really went all out putting together the \"The Kids Are Alright\" DVD, including the addition of the \"lost\" portion of the \"A Quick One\" performance.", "Second, some of the footage is presented out of sequence.", "Again, see the 1996 CD of this performance for the actual set list.", "I'm not sure why the makers of this DVD would want to present a chopped up version of this great Who performance.", "It's a total crime if the missing footage is available.", "As for positive comments, hey, this is the Who being filmed at or near their peak as a live act.", "Saving for the reservations above, what more could a fan ask for?", "Also, the DTS and Dolby Digital sound is great.", "Finally, kudos to Mr.", "Lerner for conducting and including the Pete Townshend interview.", "Any Pete or Who fan will find it very interesting and revealing.", "Anyway, know what you are getting (and not getting) with this DVD, and rock on.", "In closing, the person who wrote the Amazon blurb on this and called the three \"new\" songs \"awful\" should really reconsider that view.", "One cannot fairly describe \"Heaven and Hell\", \"I Don't Even Know Myself\" or \"Water\" as awful unless they don't really like the Who in the first instance.", "This person is clearly a casual Who fan at best if he's a fan at all.", "I think, as I'm sure most Who fans would, that these rarities are gems and, more importantly, rock---there is much more to the Who's song catalog than the 12-15 \"hits\" that they always include on their far too numerous greatest hits compilations." ]
Garrison Keillor fired for 'inappropriate behavior' MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Garrison Keillor whose stories of small-town characters entertained legions of public radio listeners for 40 years on "A Prairie Home Companion " became another celebrity felled by allegations of workplace misconduct on Wednesday when Minnesota Public Radio terminated his contracts. MPR said only that it received allegations of "inappropriate behavior" against Keillor last month involving one person who worked with him during his time hosting "A Prairie Home Companion." Keillor retired as host of the radio variety show last year but continued to work for MPR on various projects. Later Wednesday Keillor gave a statement to MPR News saying he had to "respect the privacy of the two employees who have made the allegations." A spokeswoman for MPR's corporate arm didn't immediately respond to questions from AP on whether Keillor was accused of bad behavior with more than one person. Keillor 's hand-picked successor to host the show mandolinist Chris Thile tweeted Wednesday he was "in shock" after Keillor 's firing. Thile had been a frequent musical guest on the show and said he knew nothing about the allegation adding: "I trust that the proper steps are being taken." FILE - In this July 26 2017 file photo Garrison Keillor creator and former host of "A Prairie Home Companion " talks at his St. Paul Minn. office. Keillor said Wednesday Nov. 29 he's been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen File) Sue Scott who worked on the show as a voice actor for 24 years with Keillor told the AP she was stunned. She said she saw no evidence of inappropriate behavior from Keillor . Fans also were shocked. Cindy Dina of the Minneapolis suburb of Forest Lake said she frequently listened when Keillor hosted the show and admired him saying the Minnesota native was "iconic." Keillor 's storytelling earned him comparisons with Mark Twain and Will Rogers. His 1985 best-selling book "Lake Wobegon Days " landed him on the cover of Time magazine. "A Prairie Home Companion" was heard by nearly 4 million listeners a week on nearly 700 public radio stations across the U.S. the year before Keillor left as host. The inaugural show — attended by about a dozen people at Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota on July 6 1974 — is in the Library of Congress' national registry of historic sound recordings. On Wednesday Keillor didn't say when the incident with the woman occurred. In his statement to AP Keillor said it was "poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story having told so many of them myself. In this Sept. 30 2014 photo Garrison Keillor talks with Daily Circuit host Tom Weber in the studios at Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul Minn. Keillor said Wednesday Nov. 29 2017 he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior. (Jeffrey Thompson/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) The show featured musical acts folksy humor parody ads for fake products such as Powdermilk Biscuits and the centerpiece: Keillor delivering a seemingly off-the-cuff monologue "The News From Lake Wobegon " in his rich baritone voice. "A person could not hope for more than what I was given " Keillor said in his statement Wednesday to AP. Keillor was scheduled to appear Wednesday evening at a theater in western Massachusetts along with the folk duo Robin and Linda Williams but the show was canceled.
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[ "Garrison Keillor fired for 'inappropriate behavior'\nMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Garrison Keillor whose stories of small-town characters entertained legions of public radio listeners for 40 years on \"A Prairie Home Companion \" became another celebrity felled by allegations of workplace misconduct on Wednesday when Minnesota Public Radio terminated his contracts.", "MPR said only that it received allegations of \"inappropriate behavior\" against Keillor last month involving one person who worked with him during his time hosting \"A Prairie Home Companion.", "\" Keillor retired as host of the radio variety show last year but continued to work for MPR on various projects.", "Later Wednesday Keillor gave a statement to MPR News saying he had to \"respect the privacy of the two employees who have made the allegations.", "\" A spokeswoman for MPR's corporate arm didn't immediately respond to questions from AP on whether Keillor was accused of bad behavior with more than one person.", "Keillor 's hand-picked successor to host the show mandolinist Chris Thile tweeted Wednesday he was \"in shock\" after Keillor 's firing.", "Thile had been a frequent musical guest on the show and said he knew nothing about the allegation adding: \"I trust that the proper steps are being taken.", "\"\nFILE - In this July 26 2017 file photo Garrison Keillor creator and former host of \"A Prairie Home Companion \" talks at his St.", "Paul Minn.", "office.", "Keillor said Wednesday Nov.", "29 he's been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior.", "(AP Photo/Jeff Baenen File)\nSue Scott who worked on the show as a voice actor for 24 years with Keillor told the AP she was stunned.", "She said she saw no evidence of inappropriate behavior from Keillor.", "Fans also were shocked.", "Cindy Dina of the Minneapolis suburb of Forest Lake said she frequently listened when Keillor hosted the show and admired him saying the Minnesota native was \"iconic.", "\"\n Keillor 's storytelling earned him comparisons with Mark Twain and Will Rogers.", "His 1985 best-selling book \"Lake Wobegon Days \" landed him on the cover of Time magazine.", "\"A Prairie Home Companion\" was heard by nearly 4 million listeners a week on nearly 700 public radio stations across the U.", "S. the year before Keillor left as host.", "The inaugural show — attended by about a dozen people at Macalester College in St.", "Paul Minnesota on July 6 1974 — is in the Library of Congress' national registry of historic sound recordings.", "On Wednesday Keillor didn't say when the incident with the woman occurred.", "In his statement to AP Keillor said it was \"poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story having told so many of them myself.", "In this Sept.", "30 2014 photo Garrison Keillor talks with Daily Circuit host Tom Weber in the studios at Minnesota Public Radio in St.", "Paul Minn.", "Keillor said Wednesday Nov.", "29 2017 he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior.", "(Jeffrey Thompson/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)\nThe show featured musical acts folksy humor parody ads for fake products such as Powdermilk Biscuits and the centerpiece: Keillor delivering a seemingly off-the-cuff monologue \"The News From Lake Wobegon \" in his rich baritone voice.", "\"A person could not hope for more than what I was given \" Keillor said in his statement Wednesday to AP.", "Keillor was scheduled to appear Wednesday evening at a theater in western Massachusetts along with the folk duo Robin and Linda Williams but the show was canceled." ]
Installation * Requires the installation of text to speech, C++ redistribution package, and newer access database plug-in if you don't have office 2007. * The install package try's to make you install Bing as the default search engine and MSN Live toolbar. GPS feature * Requires MSN Direct subscription or you can upload custom maps via USB if your unit is supported. * Only supports devices outside of Garmin via MSN Direct. No USB support for GPS units other than Garmin * If you own a Tom Tom and want to use Map Point without MSN Direct you are out of luck. * If you have a lower end GPS like the Garmin Nuvi 205 that I have you will need to purchase a Garmin MSN Direct receiver to use the service without usb port and that will run around $119 which, is $30 more than I paid for the GPS. Business Use * One nice feature if you are in sales like me is the Custom Territories feature. You can create a sale territory or route or whatever you use to determine your business area. I can see this working will for consumer packaged goods sales, Pharmaceutical & medical device sales, or any selling function that requires you to manage a region. o You can create the territory with a source file that has territory names and geographical boundaries or manually draw it in Map Point. o The territory feature is a little cumbersome to use when first creating a territory manually. Best new feature * The best new feature is the ability to drag and drop rerouting. This really takes the hassle out of working around traffic and construction issues. Overall, a nice upgrade however, if you don't want to use it for business you might want to stick with an older version or get Microsoft Maps and Streets.
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[ "Installation\n\n* Requires the installation of text to speech, C++ redistribution package, and newer access database plug-in if you don't have office 2007.", "* The install package try's to make you install Bing as the default search engine and MSN Live toolbar.", "GPS feature\n* Requires MSN Direct subscription or you can upload custom maps via USB if your unit is supported.", "* Only supports devices outside of Garmin via MSN Direct.", "No USB support for GPS units other than Garmin\n* If you own a Tom Tom and want to use Map Point without MSN Direct you are out of luck.", "* If you have a lower end GPS like the Garmin Nuvi 205 that I have you will need to purchase a Garmin MSN Direct receiver to use the service without usb port and that will run around $119 which, is $30 more than I paid for the GPS.", "Business Use\n* One nice feature if you are in sales like me is the Custom Territories feature.", "You can create a sale territory or route or whatever you use to determine your business area.", "I can see this working will for consumer packaged goods sales, Pharmaceutical & medical device sales, or any selling function that requires you to manage a region.", "o You can create the territory with a source file that has territory names and geographical boundaries or manually draw it in Map Point.", "o The territory feature is a little cumbersome to use when first creating a territory manually.", "Best new feature\n* The best new feature is the ability to drag and drop rerouting.", "This really takes the hassle out of working around traffic and construction issues.", "Overall, a nice upgrade however, if you don't want to use it for business you might want to stick with an older version or get Microsoft Maps and Streets." ]